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.
91裸聊视频淚 didn91裸聊视频檛 want to get too far out because it was my first time out there, and also I was alone,91裸聊视频� he said in an interview Tuesday from his home in Eastern Passage, N.S. 91裸聊视频淲hen I got there, I anchored, and everything was perfect. It was a perfect scenario.91裸聊视频�
But after three hours without a single bite, he decided to switch up his bait, putting a live mackerel on a stainless steel hook. 91裸聊视频淚t wasn91裸聊视频檛 very long, just minutes and my reel starts to click,91裸聊视频� he recalled.
Austin, a retired Royal Canadian Air Force sergeant, said his thoughts went to the 1975 movie 91裸聊视频淛aws91裸聊视频� because of a scene in which a character91裸聊视频檚 reel is clicking as he prepares for a big catch. 91裸聊视频淭his is exactly what I did. However, I had no idea it was a shark 91裸聊视频� ever 91裸聊视频� the entire time it was out there.91裸聊视频�
He turned on the GoPro camera on his hat and began trying to reel in his catch. 91裸聊视频淚t was quite the adrenalin rush for sure,91裸聊视频� he said with a laugh. 91裸聊视频淚 sincerely thought it was a dolphin or a huge striped bass.91裸聊视频�
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 91裸聊视频淗oly lifting!91裸聊视频� 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 Austin91裸聊视频檚 kayak before taking off. 91裸聊视频淢y heart was thumping so fast that I couldn91裸聊视频檛 hear anything 91裸聊视频� the birds and stuff 91裸聊视频� if they were even there, I was totally unaware of,91裸聊视频� 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.
91裸聊视频淎t that age they91裸聊视频檙e kind of like puppies. They have oversized things like their pectoral fins and their tail fins are actually wider.91裸聊视频�
But Austin did the right thing by cutting the line and letting the animal go, he said.
91裸聊视频淥ne of the things you have to realize is a lot of species of sharks have a bit of a temper,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淲hen you hook them up, they91裸聊视频檒l come back and wreak vengeance on you. They91裸聊视频檙e quite capable of retaliatory measures 91裸聊视频� you91裸聊视频檙e messing with animals that are peak apex predators in the ocean. They really rule that world.91裸聊视频�
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.
91裸聊视频淚 think we91裸聊视频檙e in the sweet spot for the species right now,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚t probably means we91裸聊视频檙e going to see an increase in numbers here.91裸聊视频�
He added that the hook left in the shark would likely not do the animal much harm. 91裸聊视频淭he sharks heal very quickly,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭heir metabolic rate is amazing.91裸聊视频�
Austin, 61, said he hopes the animal has recovered from its ordeal of being hooked.
91裸聊视频淚t probably was hanging around me for quite a while, which is kind of scary in itself,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭hen it finally saw something that it really wanted, which was the live mackerel.91裸聊视频�
Austin stayed behind that Sunday and fished 91裸聊视频� still oblivious that the one that got away was a white shark 91裸聊视频� but he didn91裸聊视频檛 hook anything else. Now that he knows, the story is more than enough.
91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 want another experience like that,91裸聊视频� he said, with a laugh. 91裸聊视频淭hank you very much.91裸聊视频�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2023.
91裸聊视频� Austin91裸聊视频檚 video of his shark experience can be viewed at . Note video contains obscene language.
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