Conor Cogan and his friends Ryan and Peter Constable are no strangers to big fish.
The men fish competitively and several social media posts are of them proudly holding up their large catches.
But a New Year’s Day practice run nearly turned deadly for Cogan when the friends went fishing around 40 km off the coast of Port Stephens in New South Wales, Australia.
In a video posted on Facebook Saturday, a freshly hooked 90-kg marlin jumped out of the water, twisted and then careened spear-first towards Cogan.
“At the last second, I ducked and [the marlin] fell onto the side of the boat and onto my back and I thought, ‘Geez, I’m alive,’” Cogan told The Daily Mail.
The jaw-dropping footage has been shared widely, with over 137,000 views on Facebook.
Cogan said he realizes that he’s lucky to be alive.
“I know guys that have had marlins jump back into the back of the boat before, but never have they hit someone and fall back into the water without anyone being seriously injured,” he said.
According to Cogan, the feisty fish snapped off the line before the men were able to tag it.
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