A fisherman got more than he bargained for when a reef shark fought back after being caught in northern Australia.

Geoff Johnson, a 50-year-old chef, was on a leisurely Sunday fishing trip in Darwin with his partner Jacky Lamb when he hooked the 6ft (1.8m) shark. But when he tried to land the fish, it bit back, leaving him with a gaping hole in his leg.

The bizarre attack occurred as Mr Johnson lifted the shark out of the water. When he tried to grab it by the tail so as to release the hook, it swung around and bit him on his right leg – leaving the giant fishing hook wedged in his knee.

As the shark thrashed around, the hook sliced open Mr Johnson’s leg just below the right knee and turned the couple’s fishing boat into a blood bath.

Mr Johnson, who lost two litres of blood, told the Northern Territory News that the shark's hook was worse than its bite.

“I just pulled it on board and it thrashed around a little bit and the hook sliced my leg,” he said.

“The hook did more damage than the shark.”

Ms Lamb said there was so much blood it looked as if somebody had been murdered.

“It was pretty damn scary, there was blood everywhere,” Ms Lamb told Times Online.

“The blood was just shooting out of his leg. It happened so quickly.”

As the couple were alone, anchored about 45 minutes out to sea and with no mobile phones on board, Ms Lamb had to cut the rope on the anchor and immediately drive the boat back while Mr Johnson lay on the deck in agony.

When they arrived back to the Darwin Trailer Boat Club, Mr Johnson limped ashore holding a bloody towel against his leg, to the surprise of onlookers.

Two men who had just returned from a fishing trip ran to Mr Johnson’s aid, putting him in the back of their car and driving him to hospital where he received 30 stitches.

Despite his injury, Mr Johnson, a chef at the local naval base, returned to work on Tuesday.

“He took yesterday (Monday) off because he was feeling a bit sluggish,” Ms Lamb said.

He’s got stitches in his leg and he’s a bit limpy and a bit light headed, but he went back to work today. He’s a bloody idiot if you ask me.”

Ms Lamb, who managed to catch a giant trevally just before the shark incident, said the couple regularly go fishing on their days off, but nothing like this had ever happened to them.

“And hopefully never will again,” she said.

The reef shark, which belongs to a variety of sharks commonly found in tropical waters, has since been disposed of.

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