Sunday, February 18, 2007

Man catches shark bare-handed

An Australian man who caught a 4ft shark with his bare hands says he only did it because he was drunk.

Phillip Kerkhof, 41, says he only realised what an 'idiot' he'd been when sobered up the next day.

The bricklayer had been to the pub for "a fair few vodkas" before going fishing with friends from a jetty at Louth Bay, on the Eyre Peninsula.


When he spotted the 4ft bronze whaler shark, he climbed down a ladder and followed the shark as it swam around the jetty.

Then he stripped off and launched himself into the water.

"It was a bit of a fluke - I just got behind the shark and I went for a big grab," Mr Kerkhof said. "I guess you could say that it was the vodka spurring me on."

After a short wrestle, Mr Kerkhof pulled the shark on to the jetty, to the cheers of his watching mates. His only injury was a scratch where the shark bit a hole in his jeans.

Mr Kerkhof said after sobering up the next day he realised that he had been "a bit of an idiot".

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