Huge shark hooked off pier
A MELBOURNE man hooked a monster 250kg shark while fishing off Point Lonsdale pier yesterday morning.
The man, Bill Athanasslies from Ivanhoe, felt his rod "explode" at about 5.30am yesterday morning while he was fishing just metres away from a popular swimming location.
"It took off like a rocket," he told the Geelong Advertiser today.
Mr Athanasslies, who runs a business teaching people how to land big fish, spent an hour fighting to reel-in the three-metre bronze whaler.
Hauling the super-sized fish up onto the pier proved equally challenging.
The bronze whaler was so heavy, Mr Athanasslies and three other men were unable to haul it out of the water.
After struggling for 40 minutes, Mr Athanasslies drove into Point Lonsdale and recruited a three more people off the street to help.
It took eight men to land the shark.
The 250kg bronze whaler was Mr Athanasslies's biggest catch.
He said catching such a large shark off a pier was the stuff of dreams for most fishermen.
Mr Athanasslies described his catch as "a beautiful fish" and said sharks were much more intelligent than most people realised.
Mr Athanasslies said he kept the shark's head for a trophy.
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Big catch: Bill Athanasslies with his prized catch, a 250kg bronze whaler.
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