Rick Austin knew he had hooked a big one as his fishing rod bent and he reeled furiously from his kayak off the Nova Scotia coast, but he never dreamt there would be a great white shark on the end of the line.

On a perfect summer morning July 30, when the wind was just right and the water was calm, Austin anchored his kayak off Kingsport in the Minas Basin, which feeds into the Bay of Fundy. He was looking for striped bass, and he set out his fishing rods with baits.

B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 want to get too far out because it was my first time out there, and also I was alone,B次元官网网址� he said in an interview Tuesday from his home in Eastern Passage, N.S. B次元官网网址淲hen I got there, I anchored, and everything was perfect. It was a perfect scenario.B次元官网网址�

But after three hours without a single bite, he decided to switch up his bait, putting a live mackerel on a stainless steel hook. B次元官网网址淚t wasnB次元官网网址檛 very long, just minutes and my reel starts to click,B次元官网网址� he recalled.

Austin, a retired Royal Canadian Air Force sergeant, said his thoughts went to the 1975 movie B次元官网网址淛awsB次元官网网址� because of a scene in which a characterB次元官网网址檚 reel is clicking as he prepares for a big catch. B次元官网网址淭his is exactly what I did. However, I had no idea it was a shark B次元官网网址� ever B次元官网网址� the entire time it was out there.B次元官网网址�

He turned on the GoPro camera on his hat and began trying to reel in his catch. B次元官网网址淚t was quite the adrenalin rush for sure,B次元官网网址� he said with a laugh. B次元官网网址淚 sincerely thought it was a dolphin or a huge striped bass.B次元官网网址�

Then he saw the large, grey fish he had hooked swim near the surface, mere feet from the bow of his kayak. On the video he filmed, he can be heard exclaiming B次元官网网址淗oly lifting!B次元官网网址� and a few other choice words, before he decided he would need to cut the line.

He said after being cut loose the shark swam a little distance and breached, then returned to circle AustinB次元官网网址檚 kayak before taking off. B次元官网网址淢y heart was thumping so fast that I couldnB次元官网网址檛 hear anything B次元官网网址� the birds and stuff B次元官网网址� if they were even there, I was totally unaware of,B次元官网网址� he said.

Dr. Chris Harvey-Clark, a veterinarian at Dalhousie University, helped confirm the animal Austin hooked was indeed a great white shark. He said it could be identified by its stocky body profile, distinct dorsal fin and black colouring on its top. The other shark species that are similar in the Bay of Fundy waters are porbeagle and mako sharks, but they are slimmer and bluish, he said.

The shark was a juvenile, between 1.5 and two metres in length, and probably weighed between 45 and 70 kilograms, he said.

B次元官网网址淎t that age theyB次元官网网址檙e kind of like puppies. They have oversized things like their pectoral fins and their tail fins are actually wider.B次元官网网址�

But Austin did the right thing by cutting the line and letting the animal go, he said.

B次元官网网址淥ne of the things you have to realize is a lot of species of sharks have a bit of a temper,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲hen you hook them up, theyB次元官网网址檒l come back and wreak vengeance on you. TheyB次元官网网址檙e quite capable of retaliatory measures B次元官网网址� youB次元官网网址檙e messing with animals that are peak apex predators in the ocean. They really rule that world.B次元官网网址�

An abundance of marine mammal food combined with conservation efforts that have helped population numbers could be attracting more sharks to Canadian waters, Harvey-Clark said.

B次元官网网址淚 think weB次元官网网址檙e in the sweet spot for the species right now,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t probably means weB次元官网网址檙e going to see an increase in numbers here.B次元官网网址�

He added that the hook left in the shark would likely not do the animal much harm. B次元官网网址淭he sharks heal very quickly,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭heir metabolic rate is amazing.B次元官网网址�

Austin, 61, said he hopes the animal has recovered from its ordeal of being hooked.

B次元官网网址淚t probably was hanging around me for quite a while, which is kind of scary in itself,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hen it finally saw something that it really wanted, which was the live mackerel.B次元官网网址�

Austin stayed behind that Sunday and fished B次元官网网址� still oblivious that the one that got away was a white shark B次元官网网址� but he didnB次元官网网址檛 hook anything else. Now that he knows, the story is more than enough.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 want another experience like that,B次元官网网址� he said, with a laugh. B次元官网网址淭hank you very much.B次元官网网址�

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2023.

B次元官网网址� AustinB次元官网网址檚 video of his shark experience can be viewed at . Note video contains obscene language.

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