Landed Shark With Hands

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31316, 11 March 1967, Page 1

Landed Shark With Hands

(New Zealand Press Association)

HAWERA, March 10.

A man wrestled barehanded with a nine-foot long 2601 b shark in 18 inches of water at Bakers Beach, threequarters of a mile south of the Patea river last night.

The shark was being reeled ashore on a 1501 b breaking-strain nylon line when it chewed through the line.

Mr R. Murfitt, who was on the beach helping haul in the line, raced into the sea to grab the shark by the tail. “It was thrashing around a bit, but I hung on and yelled for my brother-in-law, who was using the reel on the clifftop, to help,” said Mr Murfitt today, “We both held on and waited for a wave to carry us in.”

Mr Murfitt discovered the tiger shark when setting his

500 yards line about 5 p.m. “I saw the float (a four gallon drum) bobbing up and down so I paddled over in my kyak. When I saw a tail fin pop out of the water about 30 feet away, I took one look, turned around, and headed straight back to shore.” It took Mr Murfitt and his brother-in-law, Mr M. Mellow, almost half an hour to land the catch. Mr Murfitt said the shark was probably half drowned then, because each time it tried to dive, the float held It back. “It made a proper mess of hooks and line, wrapping them around Itself,” he said.