Man Can’t Reel In Fish, Realizes Something Is Wrong

From The Depths

He felt his heart racing as he reeled hard with his body. The rod was bending nearly in half – it must have been something huge.

But he realized too late that the catch could capsize his vessel if he wasn’t careful. When it finally breached the water everyone around him couldn’t believe it.

Down Under

Trent de Wit loved nothing more than nature. He loved the Northern Territory in Australia – more specifically a town called Katherine.

He ran a family business called Rod & Rifle Tackleworld. His entire family loved fishing more than anything else. They loved going out on the Victoria River and looking for their next big catch.

Time For A Break

For his Halloween weekend, Trent felt it only fitting to go for a weekend getaway with his friends. Fishing was on top of their list.

The Northern Territory had just been opened to the public and he knew people would soon come flooding in. He wanted to get there first and enjoy the peace and quiet.

The River’s Calling

He was looking forward to his little getaway with his friends. He was also happy to get away from the busy streets of kids trick or treating and be on the calm water of the river. Halloween was an American tradition anyway.

Trent was excited to relax on his boat on cool water. He would lie back and patiently wait for something to bite while he drank a cold one with his mates. Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

Gone Fishin’

The Victoria River had crystal clear waters when Trent and his three best friends set out to Timber Creek – a three-hour drive from Katherine. It was their favorite place to go fish.

When they got there they loaded their boat into the water and soon were on the beautiful waters wondering what fish would be biting. Trent wanted a decent-sized barramundi at least.

Where are the Fish?

It was a great day out – except for the fact that the fish weren’t biting… which was very strange. Trent had a few false alarms and got excited about nothing, which amused his mates to no end.

They teased “Australia’s number-one angler” who had been “fishing since his childhood”, yet couldn’t even bait “a few little fishies”. Little did they know, something was about to wipe the smiles off all their faces.

A Bite

Suddenly, out of the blue, Trent felt the telltale jerk on his rod. He leaped up, winding the winch furiously.

With his prized rod bending until it almost touched the water, his catch tried to swim deeper into the depths. Puling with all his might, he thought he’d just caught the biggest fish of his life. Only, this was no fish.

Enormous

Trent’s arms were taking strain, and he was starting to breathe heavily. He didn’t know what was caught on the hook, but he was determined to bring it in. And he wasn’t about to lose his gear.

Like a deadly tug o’ war, it was Trent against whatever was in the murky water. It was still too deep under for him to see what exactly was putting up this fight. What creature had such power to bend his rod almost in two?

Big Mistake

Adrenaline raced through Trent’s body as he planted his feet apart to get better leverage and hooked the rod up to the boat. Then, with his forearms burning under the weight of the beast, he slowly began to reel it in… closer and closer toward the boat.

Suddenly, the boat began to tilt with a sickening groan, and the thrashing creature finally began to emerge. And that’s when Trent realized that he’d made a huge mistake.

A Terrifying Shape

A dark shape appeared, just below the surface of the water, and Trent’s jaw came unhinged.

Realizing that the horrific four-foot-long silhouette was no fish, he scrabbled to free the rod as the boat rocked and scooped water with every thrash from the monster on the other end of the line. It refused to let go of the lure.

“Cut The Line!”

“Cut the line!” one of his friends screamed as they watched the boat fill with water. But Trent stubbornly refused. He wasn’t about to lose his prized lure and was prepared to fight for it.

Referring to his lure, he joked nervously: “Anyone want to get that back for me?” But no one was smiling.

A Dangerous Creature

Trent almost lost his footing as the beast’s leathery skin broke the surface of the water. Then, suddenly, it breached. Finally getting a good look at what was on the end of the line, everyone stood aghast.

Leaping out of the water, still clasping the lure in its razor-toothed mouth, was a giant saltwater crocodile. How was he going to handle this?

Refusing to Let Go

The terrifying crocodile breached once more — still refusing to let go of the lure. Trent continued pulling at the rod and trying to get the upper hand.

As the monster drew nearer to the boat, it tipped again, tilting Trent dangerously close to its snapping jaws. That’s when he came to a frightening realization: It was trying to roll the boat.

Holding Fast

With fear pulsing through his body, Trent held fast. His arms and shoulders burned and his heart raced.

Just when he thought he could no longer stand the strain on his muscles, he braced himself for one more almighty pull. Suddenly, the line went slack, catapulting the boat back into an upright position. The lure had broken free!

Breaking Free

Watching the enormous creature retreat into the depths, everyone let out sighs of relief. With pats on the back for Trent, everyone had a look at the damaged lure. Trent was aware that anglers sometimes accidentally hooked crocs, but this one had seemed to want to eat the lure!

Luckily Trent’s rod and reel were of good quality – it had made all the difference. Even when hooking a big barramundi, you wouldn’t want your gear to fail.

The Video

Trent posted a video of his Battle Royale on the Rod & Rifle TackleWorld Katherine Facebook page, and it received thousands of views in a matter of days.

He explained that it’s more common than one would think for Aussies to hook a crocodile instead of a fish. He just hadn’t expected it to happen to him!

Going Viral

Needless to say, many people had been impressed with Trent’s croc fighting skills. He admitted that he’d gone up against many a large fish in the past, but this one topped them all by far.

Facing off with an aggressive crocodile that’s ready to fight for its life is extremely dangerous. So it’s no surprise that the video quickly went viral.

Reactions

“Here we were just trolling along with a classic 200 and this fella decides he wants to have a crack at it. Managed to get the lure back! Although it doesn’t track as straight as it used to,” Trent captioned the popular video.

Those who viewed the video were especially impressed with his tools, noting how strong they appeared to be while he was fighting the crocodile.

“That’s Insane!”

“How awesome,” one user wrote. “Can I ask what the set up was please as in rod reel line and leader? If that combo can pull a salty that size it can pull anything!”

Another user commented on Trent’s refusal to let his lure go: “That’s insane! I would have been quite content giving up some line and a lure if I saw this thing in my hook.”

Wildly Popular

The clip has so far been viewed over a million times with almost 4,000 comments.

Facebook user Gavin Nichols highlighted the dangers of such a stunt, “Is everyone just going to ignore the fact that that crocodile could have rolled them out of the boat and eaten the dude?” Then, the video made its way onto YouTube.

Crazy Stunt

“This guy is nuts,” one YouTube user wrote. “I would have thrown my pole in the lake and ran as soon as it surfaced.”

And, for any reasonable person, that would have been the most common reaction among most people if they found the formidable predator on the end of their rod! Here’s why…

An Apex Predator

The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile and crocodilian known to science. A male saltwater crocodile can grow to a length of up to 20 feet and is an opportunistic apex predator.

It ambushes most of its prey and then drowns or swallows it whole. It is capable of overpowering almost any animal that enters its territory, including other apex predators such as sharks… and even humans.

Saltwater And Freshwater

Because of its tendency to swim long distances at sea, individual saltwater crocodiles appeared occasionally in areas far away from their general range.

Saltwater crocodiles generally spend the tropical wet season in freshwater swamps and rivers, moving downstream to estuaries in the dry season. Crocodiles compete fiercely with each other for territory, with dominant males, in particular, occupying the most eligible stretches of freshwater creeks and streams.

Attacks

Saltwater crocodiles are regarded as dangerous for people who share the same environment. Attacks by saltwater crocodiles often occur in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

Reviews indicate that at least half of all attacks by saltwater crocodiles are fatal. So, Trent coming so close to reeling one in one is no joke!