Fisherman's shark encounter: 'I freaked out when I looked into the huge black eye'

Fisherman's shark encounter: 'I freaked out when I looked into the huge black eye'
Published: Mar. 28, 2017 at 4:01 PM EDT|Updated: Mar. 29, 2017 at 6:59 AM EDT
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Schroder said one of their baits attracted what they believed was a 135-175 lbs. Sandbank...
Schroder said one of their baits attracted what they believed was a 135-175 lbs. Sandbank Shark. (Source: Jannick Schroder via YouTube)
Schroder said they found a tooth in the boat's engine cover when they inspected the vessel...
Schroder said they found a tooth in the boat's engine cover when they inspected the vessel after the incident. (Source: Jannick Schroder via YouTube)

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WECT) - Jannick Schroder and his friends were bottom fishing off the Wrightsville Beach coast earlier this month when they encountered, not one, but two sharks.

Schroder said one of their baits attracted what they believed was a 135-175-pound shark. Schroder fought with it for about 30-35 minutes before reeling it to about five yards under the surface.

That's when he looked down and saw a huge shade.

"Literally, I was leaning on this side of the boat looking down and then the next second a huge shade appeared from under the boat with a huge torso I have never seen before," Schroder said. "I was freaking out screaming some German stuff.

"I freaked out when I looked into the huge black eye," Schroder said, explaining they have reason to believe it was a great white.

He said the shark was about 8-10 feet shorter than his 22-foot Wellcraft Walkaround, but "was incredibly wide" and was "at least 5-10 times as big" as the shark hooked on Schroder's rod.

Schroder said the great white took a bite out of the shark hooked on the rod and then rammed the boat, knocking them over.

"As soon as I got up, I cut the line to get rid of my 'half' shark, so the huge predator would leave since it was frightening us to death," Schroder said, adding the shark was circling the boat.

As quickly as it had surfaced, the shark went deep under the boat again before swimming away.

"The dimension and power of that shark was simply amazing, a very beautiful creature," Schroder said.

Schroder said they found a tooth in the boat's engine cover when they inspected the vessel after the incident. They took the tooth to the Workshop at Wrightsville Beach who also identified the tooth as one of a great white.

According to OCEARCH, Cisco, a great white pinged in the waters near Wrightsville Beach March 16, 2017 around 4 a.m. The tracking map shows he's been hanging out in the area and has pinged several times in the past two weeks.

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