Fisherman reels in something a bit unexpected - and terrifying
When Australian Ben Stack was having trouble reeling in a fish while off the Cape York Peninsula, he just presumed his catch had snagged on a log.
So he began slowly winching it in and as he wrote on Facebook, "what took place in the next few seconds felt like a lifetime."
Because it wasn't a log that was preventing him from reeling in his catch. It was a crocodile.
He writes:
"First, I saw a bit of silver, then I saw my lure with the fishes mouth wide open. I lifted the leader some more and leaned over further to see what the fish was hooked up on. It was at this moment, I realised I was staring eye to eye with a solid salt water crocodile. We were face to face and no more than 20 inches apart. Fright kicked in, I released the leader and flew backwards into the boat."
Ben had the presence of mind to take a couple of photos and posted them online with a warning to other fisherman to beware of what might be hiding underneath their boats.
"I couldn’t believe what I had just experienced and I didn’t think anybody was going to believe me. Thankfully these pictures had turned out. Be careful while fishing creeks and rivers with crocodiles in them because one may be hiding under your boat."
