A terrifying close encounter with a monster white shark has done little to deter keen angler, Matthew Smith from casting a line from his kayak.
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The 23-year-old Novocastrian had been fishing for about one and a half hours off Black Head headland last Saturday morning, October 18 when the predator made its presence know.
Matthew was fishing for snapper with his brother Stewart when the curious shark glided up to the vessel.
"I saw the shark when it first got close and watched it circle and look at me," Matthew said.
At the same time, his mate, Nick O'Brien was on land helplessly capturing the unfolding encounter with a drone.
"Nick was not able to alert me of the shark, although there was no need as I could very clearly see the it."
But, when Matthew raised his concerns with cries for help, Stewart paddled straight over to offer his assistance.
"I thought it might be scared off if there were two of us."
Matthew admitted to being initially scared of the shark, but within moments felt confident it would not attack.
"Most great white encounters involve the shark checking people out and then losing interest.
"However, when the shark swam towards the back of me just before it disappeared I did think it might have an exploratory bite, which from a big shark can do some damage.
"So that is when I thought I might be in some real danger."
The casual theatre assistance said this was his first close encounter with a shark since he began fishing offshore in a kayak 18 months ago.
However, he had seen plenty from the safety of the shore, while he said sharks had taken his catches in the past while fishing in a tinny.
"The majority of the sharks I have seen have been in that area; a healthy marine ecosystem must also have a healthy population of sharks.
Matthew spends most of his spare time fishing in the Great Lakes following a childhood holidaying and visiting his grandparents in the area.
Disappointingly for the veteran angler, the only catch was a handful of memorable photographs of the giant fish and some bait fish.
Following the heart pumping encounter, Matthew said he would take a few weeks break from the kayak and borrow his dad's 4.4m tinny.
The shark lost interest and swam away after Matthew threw the anchor into the ocean.
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