White Pointer takes the bait

SURPRISE CATCH: Colin Sherman with his surprise catch, at the Northern Wairoa Boating Club where the shark was weighed on Saturday.

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A Dargaville fisherman thought he had caught a seal on his fishing line only to find he’d pulled up a white pointer shark.

Colin Sherman was doing what he loves best, fishing at the beach, south of Glinks Gully on Saturday, when he felt a big pull on his long line and then saw a fin flapping in the current. He went to investigate and found the large 7 foot, 87.5kg shark dead on the end of his line.

Mr Sherman believes the shark was a juvenile, perhaps a month old, which he says denotes the mother is probably swimming around in the vicinity.

"I caught another one about 10 years ago and it was only half the size of this one and adult pointers can get up to about 20 feet.

He says the shark was dead when he got to it.

"Fishing is all I live for and it’s in my family because my father Bill, fished all his life and died while mullet fishing," he says.

Mr Sherman’s family are also keen on fishing and he says it’s a sport people can expect to have some unusual catches.

- © Fairfax NZ News