Forget Jaws the movie - get down to St Osyth beach for the real-life action.
Fisherman Tony Talbot got the shock of his life when a pulled up a 4ft thresher shark on to his boat as he was trying to catch bass.
The 38-year-old realised it was something special when he had difficulty getting the eight-pounder on to the deck as it thrashed about all over the place.
He was in just 6ft of water and not far from shore.
"It was a real struggle and it was putting up a fight," he said. "I thought I knew what it was and it was confirmed when I made a few phone calls when I got back in."
Mr Talbot - who was a fishery officer for about seven years - said it was rare to find thresher sharks in Tendring or local waters.
Its exact length was 51 inches.
Published Thursday July 8, 2004
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