Florida fisherman issues defiant message to shark that bit him during photo op gone wrong: ‘See you next time’

A Florida fisherman was suddenly attacked by his catch — a 6-foot lemon shark — while posing for a photo with the big fish, but said the near-death encounter won’t deter him from getting back to hunting the apex predators.

Shawn Meuse and his friends voyaged to the Boca Grande on Saturday night to fish for sharks when one of their catches suddenly took a dangerous turn, WINK reported.

While posing for a picture with a hulking shark they caught during the late-night excursion, Meuse was unexpectedly bitten in the leg by the creature, the outlet reported.

“We just finished taking the hook out of his mouth. We were gonna go release him, and the shark just turned and bit me,” Meuse told the outlet.

Video of the incident posted to social media captured Meuse holding the top of the shark’s mouth by a shoreline when it began abruptly thrashing and chomped down on his leg.

The fisherman then fell back as his leg began bleeding, and his fishing buddies began screaming.

The Boca Grande Fire Department then responded to a panicked 911 call about the terrifying incident.

“We have a tourniquet on his leg. He’s got a towel on it, trying to stop the bleeding. He’s awake,” the 911 caller said, according to the outlet

Meuse was then airlifted to Gulf Coast Medical Center.

Despite the terrifying ordeal, the fisherman remained determined to get back to his beloved shark fishing hobby.

“I’d go back today if I could leave the hospital,” Meuse said from his hospital bed.

“It’s, you know, it’s unfortunate, but it’s something that happens when you go, you know, it happens sometimes. Luckily, he only took a little bit of me and not a lot. So, you know, I’m one of the fortunate ones. And you know, I’m a shark bite victim. A lot of good stories now,” he told the outlet.

“See you next time,” Meuse said in a message to the shark.

Boca Grande officials warned residents in the area to be on high alert for sharks during tarpon season, when fish and sharks migrate to shallower waters and warmer temperatures.

“There are a lot of sharks out here, especially during tarpon season. I’ve never seen anybody, you know, specifically fishing for a shark, getting bitten. You got to be careful when you’re playing with Mother Nature,” Fire Chief C.W. Blosser told the outlet.

Meuse is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries.