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Aussie fisherman's disturbing find after reeling in stingray

"As an amateur angler I can easily say this was the wildest morning fishing I've ever had."

WARNING — Graphic content: An amateur angler experienced his "wildest morning fishing" after reeling in a rather disturbing find from a Perth river this week.

Liam Kenny was at his "quiet fishing spot" on Monday at a jetty along the Swan River when a heavy weight pulled at his rod.

The equipment, suited for small fish, wasn't prepared for whatever creature latched on – and neither was Mr Kenny, who soon discovered it to be a stingray. Only a large portion of it was missing.

stingray pictured on beach
The WA fisherman shared his shock catch to social media. Source: Facebook/Liam LK Kenny

"River monsters are real," he said on Facebook. He also posted the confronting photos of the ray, which is believed to have been half-eaten by a bull shark, who are known to frequent the Swan River.

"When I first saw damage I thought it was a boat [propeller]," he said on Facebook. "But once I got a closer look I instantly knew it was a shark.

"There's three bite marks...I was amazed at the precision of the bites as we're all the people around to see it."

A photo of the stingray, believed to be half-eaten, found by a fisherman in Perth's Swan River.
The stingray believed to be half-eaten was found by a fisherman in Perth's Swan River. Source: Facebook/Liam LK Kenny

Stingray predator thought to be big

Mr Kenny described the ray as "one metre across," and what was left of it weighed more than eight kilograms, prompting people online to wonder how big the shark that apparently attacked it must have been.

"If that ray is 1m as stated, those bites are massive! Would not like to run into that thing in the water that's for sure," one person said on Reddit.

"Poor stingray didn't have a chance," another said.

"That's a hell of a tooth pick (stingray barb) to swallow," a third person joked.

Others thought the find was a "catch of a lifetime," as did Mr Kenny.

"As an amateur angler I can easily say this was the wildest morning fishing I've ever had," he said.

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