A local fisherman shocked even himself when he pulled in one the sea?s most feared predators on Tuesday afternoon while fishing off the Rockaway Ferry dock in Southampton.

Robert Custodio hooked a large shark ? so large he struggled with it for nearly an hour before reeling it and realising what it was.

Mr. Custodio, who has been fishing in this area for many years, said he had never before encountered a shark and was shocked by its size and strength.

?I caught one of those little hamlets and cleaned it out and hung it on the side of the dock with a piece of fishing line and continued fishing,? he said.

?The fish were biting and then, all of a sudden, nothing. Nothing was even in the water, the fry were gone and the water was just clear.

?Then, in the corner of my eye, I saw something big and grey to my right and thought it was one of those sting rays because those things are everywhere.?

Mr. Custodio said he pulled a big hook and 600-pound test line out out of his fishing box and threw it out with the hamlet ? within two second the shark took it.

?I fought that thing for at least about an hour and what I did was tie the line around the light pole because I couldn?t hold that thing,? he said.

?I wrapped it around once and held the reel because it was a hand line and that thing just kept going.

?But finally I tired him out and held him there, because the line didn?t break, and pulled the thing in. And when I pulled it in I couldn?t believe what it was.?

Former National Football team coach Kenny Thompson was nearby at the time and captured images of the six- to seven-foot shark on his cell phone camera.

But the beast eventually broke free of the line and swam away.

?I was a bit upset because my landlord makes very good shark hash,? quipped Mr. Custodio.

?I am still a bit concerned, though, because that thing is still roaming out there in the Sound. But I am going to go back there (Rockaway) with a wire leader and hopefully catch him this time around.?

Acting Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo curator Patrick Talbot said yesterday that it is not uncommon for sharks to wander into shallow waters around the Island.

?Generally sharks tend to stay offshore, but there?s nothing preventing them from coming inshore,? he said. ?There are several places where sharks come inshore looking for prey items like fish. So this shark could have been looking for food or could have been following something (like a boat) or could have even come in for breeding purposes.?