Shark bite survivor describes Vic attack

A Victorian fisherman has described how the jaws of a gill shark locked onto his hand and started thrashing around after he'd hooked it while out fishing.

A Victorian fisherman has told of the terrifying moment a shark he'd hooked bit into his hand and thrashed around as he hauled it into his boat.

Rod McFarlane, 73, was fishing off the coast of Geelong when the 1.5 metre gill shark latched onto his right hand after he gaffed it from the side of his boat on Tuesday morning.

"All I knew is it had a hold of my hand and it was thrashing around," the fisherman told AAP from his hospital bed on Wednesday.

"It let go and I looked at it and realised what it had done."

Mr McFarlane is due to have reconstructive surgery to fix a split in his right hand that's left him with feeling in only two fingers.