Fisherman comes face to face with a crocodile that was trying to eat his catch

One Australian fisherman got slightly more than he bargained for after the fish he was trying to haul into his boat emerged with a huge crocodile attached to it.

Ben Stack, who runs the Cape York Guide to Explore page on Facebook, explained in a post on Tuesday that he assumed the Threadfin fish on the end of his rod was trying to hide under a log on the riverbed.

While I was slowly gaining some line, I was admiring the excellent fighting ticker of these fish. The fish had another run and went straight under the boat.

Then everything stopped, no vibration, no kicking or head shaking, no fight, just a heavy dead weight. 'Damn, he’s run under a log', I thought.

After a long fight, the Queenslander then leaned over his boat and tried to haul in the Threadfin with both hands, expecting to see a "large branch or log come to the surface".

What took place in the next few seconds felt like a lifetime. Or was it that I felt like my life only had a few seconds.

Instead of a log, he claims he was confronted with this:

First, I saw a bit of silver, then I saw my lure with the fishes mouth wide open...

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.

Stack somehow had the presence of mind to grab his camera and take a couple of pictures of the amazing yet terrifying moment before letting the fish go, although the exact sequence of events is unclear.

He leaves his post on Facebook with a warning for others: "Be careful while fishing creeks and rivers with crocodiles in them because one may be hiding under your boat."

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