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.
Police later found the fisherman at home and the kayak, containing his fishing gear, will be returned to him.
