Huntington Beach fisherman hooks 7-foot shark; advisory issued

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A shark advisory was issued at Huntington Beach after a fisherman nearly caught a 7-foot shark off the pier.

A fisherman was fishing off the pier around 11 a.m. Tuesday when he hooked the shark, thought to be a juvenile great white.

"It was strong and pulling back and forth, back and forth," said another fisherman, Frank Lee, who witnessed the incident.

As the fisherman was reeling it in, the line snapped and the shark swam off.

Witnesses said the fisherman struggled for about 30 minutes to an hour to get the shark up to the surface of the water before the shark broke the line and got away.

"That was, like, crazy," said a boy holding his surfboard. "It was, like, really cool but also scary."

This was just a sighting, and no one was injured. However, Huntington Beach lifeguards still issued an advisory via social media and posted information between towers 9 and 14.

"There's a lot of other targets out there too, so we're not too worried about it," said one of several surfers who entered the water despite the advisory.

"When it's your time, it's your time," said another. "Hopefully it nibbles first, though."

Local fishermen say it's not that uncommon to hook a shark. Great white sharks are a protected species and by law must be released if inadvertently hooked.

Lifeguard tryouts scheduled at Huntington Beach this weekend were not canceled.