Warning after fisherman's incredibly close call in Aussie river: 'Lucky we didn't lose a limb'

An experienced Aussie fisherman is warning others to always remain alert after an incredibly close call with a hungry — and very annoyed — crocodile hoping to catch an easy meal in a murky rural river. Earlier this week, Troy, who runs Queensland -based Dragonpearl Seafoods , was fishing for barramundi near the Leichhardt River, in the state’s far west, when he noticed he and his staff weren’t alone. Footage shows Troy pulling one his nets filled with a “smorgasbord” of fish into his tinnie, only to reveal a four-metre croc tangled on the other end.

“He was in the net pinching fish out of it, and then got his snout tangled a little bit,” he told Yahoo News, adding that while “occasionally” fishers will accidentally snag one of the animals, it’s “not something that happens very often”. As Troy struggles to pull the strong croc to the surface to cut it free, the men can be heard stepping back in shock as it emerges from under the swaying boat. The animal appears to be surprisingly docile as Troy places his gloved hand just centimetres from its ensnared mouth and slashes the net with a knife.



“We just got to be careful that he doesn’t launch into the boat,” the fisher tells the man filming, who admits his heart is racing. Once it was free, the crocodile “dropped out very easily”, Troy told Yahoo. “We got him away safely and alive.

I would suggest that croc probably got himself caught in a net before. They learn very quickly. They’re very smart animals and a lot of the time they won’t sort of act up or play up, they’ll almost play dead until you get them free, and then they go about their business.

” However, Troy commented online that not all crocs are as “chill” as this one. “We are lucky we didn’t lose a limb,” he said. Crocodile lets fishermen know he's 'not happy' After spending a few days in the area collecting fish for customers ahead of the Easter weekend , the men realised they had company.

“We had an inkling because he chewed up one of our bubbles (a hard polystyrene ball that is clipped to the net) the night before, and the next day we actually caught him,” Troy said, adding the territorial croc “definitely wasn’t happy” they were there. “And as a result of that, knowing that he’s there and not afraid to try and come and get fish out of the net, we decided to pick up our gear and move downriver so that we were out of his area.” The encounter was later logged with Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries, as is required for interactions with all protected or endangered species.

“We do our best to release any sort of protected or endangered species — that covers turtles, dugongs, sawfish , crocodiles — and the majority of the time they are all released unarmed with no problems,” Troy said. “But sometimes they do pass. We do our best to be on on top of our nets as often as possible to ensure that doesn’t happen.

” Troy noted he checks his nets every three to four hours. Close call with croc prompts warning to fishers Troy said the close call with the croc served as a warning to all fishers to always “keep their wits” about them, especially when sticking their hands in the water. “We get really complacent at times, when you’re sort of day in, day out, doing this as a job, but you definitely always have to be aware that these guys can be right there and you will not see them until it’s too late.

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