A fisherman has been tossed from his kayak after hooking a less than impressed shark in Victoria's Western Port Bay, sparking a mystery when his vessel was spotted drifting hours later.
After the run-in, the fisherman was able to signal for help from friends, who were fishing in a boat nearby off Balnarring on Saturday night and helped him and his kayak to shore.
Unperturbed by the near-miss, the fisherman decided to have another fish, this time from the safety of his friends' boat.
But when he went to retrieve his kayak a few hours later, it was missing and he returned home without notifying authorities.
The mystery began when a passing boat spotted the unmanned kayak drifting off Cliff's Beach on Sunday morning, sparking a search involving the Water Police, the police Air Wing helicopter, Coastguard and Volunteer Marine Rescue members.
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Police later found the fisherman at home and the kayak, containing his fishing gear, will be returned to him.
