“Didn’t expect it to take 45 minutes and be a shark,” said Worn.
A video of four boys reeling in a shark on the beach at Pāuanui has gone viral. Photo / What’s on at Pauanui
Once they got the shark on to the beach, the boys worked together to take the hook out of its mouth, with one of them straddling the fish and pushing it back into the ocean.
Quade and Keegan’s father, Shayne Johnson, said they’re a fishing-mad family.
“We’re doing it non-stop. When we’re not working, we’re fishing.”
Johnson said it was “history repeating itself” with the kids going shark fishing – just like he did when he was growing up.
Bronze whaler sharks are common in the area, especially when the water is at the warmer end of its annual range, Johnson said, adding that the species was “pretty mellow” and they don’t go out of their way to bite.
Johnson said the boys catch and release.
“I said to my boys, you don’t kill anything or harm it unless you’re going to eat it, right?
“So they’ve been taught the right way. Otherwise, they’d be in severe trouble if they were down there being horrible.”
The boys use circle hooks to hook a shark in the side of the mouth, grinding off the barbs so the hook can slide out.
The boys removed the hook and let the shark go free. Photo / What’s on in Pauanui
Johnson said he loved that the boys were outside having a good time.
Although the boys are used to catching sharks and letting them go, they were quite chuffed about the video.
“They think they’re famous now,” laughed Johnson.
“It’s cool. They’re just boys having fun, you know? Just gets them out of the house. They’re not on iPads and phones in there. I like seeing that.”