Te Puke's Reuben Martin is well and truly hooked on his love of fishing after reeling in a two metre bronze whaler shark in Papamoa.
Te Puke boy Reuben Martin.
What started as a visit to Papamoa Beach with father Kelly ended up being the catch of a life time for the 17-year-old on Thursday, January 9.
Reuben, who has autism, was on the beach when a trio of local fishermen offered him a turn behind their heavy-duty surfcaster.
'They had a big proper fishing rod because they were down there to catch the sharks,” says Reuben's sister Rebecca Martin, who arrived in time to see the shark to being reeled in.
'They gave him another rod and then the line took off. Reuben grabbed it and went with the rod; people had to grab him so he wouldn't be dragged out.”
Reuben Martin with the two metre bronze whaler shark he hooked at Papamoa Beach. Photo: supplied.
Strapped into a harness with the graphite rod up, Reuben fought with the shark, estimated to weigh about 160kg, for 45 minutes before bringing it into shallow water.
The fishermen helped hold it down and open its jaws, removing the hook with Reuben posing for some photos before it was released.
'Rueben loved it,” says Rebecca. 'He fishes as much as he possibly can. It is definitely the biggest he has caught.”
She says her brother is yet to stop talking about the experience.
'He's normally just surfcasting and off the wharf at the Mount. He doesn't usually catch anything that big.
'He was back down there two days later and caught a big kahawai which fed us for two days.”
Bronze whalers, which can grow to 3.3m in length and weigh up to 200kg, are common along the stretch of beach. They can be found in shallow bays, harbours and offshore waters, 330feet deep, or more but are not regarded as a threat to humans.
3 comments
Cruel
Posted on 26-01-2014 18:46 | By panda
That poor shark. Pulled from the water with a hook pierced through its lip, gasping for breath while they do a photo shoot! Disgusting.
Hooked on stupidity
Posted on 26-01-2014 21:18 | By awaroa
A group of men were seen fishing off the beach. Small children, families and others at the same spot, in the water having a ball. These guys started tossing burley - bits of chopped up skip jack - into the tide attempting to attract sharks to the area so they could catch them on their lines. Sharks can detect one part blood to a billion parts water. I mean, is the buzz of catching a shark on a line worth the risks these guys were creating? and taking the hook out.. Yeah right.. Idiots if you ask me. If you want to catch a shark, get a boat. If you need an adreniline rush, go get it where no one else's safety can be compromised. Twits.
@awaroa&panda
Posted on 27-01-2014 14:38 | By Sambo Returns
but did not the "challenged" lad have fun,would you like to live his life?, this has given him something called laughter, get over it you 2, the only good shark is a dead one anyway.
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