A Lake Munmorah fisherman and his son have recalled the frightening moments when a great white shark attacked their boat.

The great white, more than half as long as their boat, repeatedly rammed it in waters just off Gwandalan on Sunday.

Stephen Crust and his son Andrew were fishing at about 10:30am when the 3.5 great white savaged their boat over 20 minutes.

"It gave me a bloody big fright", Andrew, 36 said.

"It was big enough to take an arm off or even kill you. And it kept coming back rocking the boat, giving it a bloody good shove".

It's the fourth sighting of a great white in Lake Macquarie since September.


According to Stephen, the shark tried to bite into the motor several times before he pulled out his deep sea fishing rod and hooked it using pike as bait.
This then sparked an adrenaline-filled 30 minute battle with the shark.
"I hooked him with my heavy ocean gear and it was a great fight util he snapped the line", said Stephen, an experienced deep-sea fisherman.
The encounter serves as a warning for those preparing for water sports in Lake Macquarie over the Christmas break.

"It's a big of a worry if this shark is about when people are out skiing or doing anything on the water".