Great white shark dragged fishing boat full of people around San Francisco Bay

It sounds like a scene from Jaws, but it was all-too real for a group of fisherman in the US who got the fright of their lives after a great white shark pulled their boat around.

Fisherman in the San Francisco Bay over the weekend had an encounter to remember with a massive great white shark.

Fishermen who hooked the massive shark were dragged for three kilometres around San Francisco Bay as they battled for 30 minutes to reel it in, reports the New York Post.

A video viewed more than 62,000 times on Facebook shows the group struggling to control a rod that was bent in half — with the fish dragging them despite them dropping anchor on their small fishing boat.

That’s a f***ing great white!” several screamed when they finally reeled it in, rushing to immediately free the vulnerable species that is illegal to catch.

Boat operator Joey Gamez reckoned the great white was almost 2.5 metres long and said it was the biggest catch for any of his clients in 20 years operating Golden State Sportfishing.

The force was almost like hooking into a Volkswagen that was a hundred feet deep and just trying to hold on to the rod and reel, Gamez told CBS.

It almost pulled me into the water at one point. It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever fought in my life, that’s for sure.

We’re in their home, so it’s a scary thing, but it was an adrenaline rush, for sure, for everybody on the boat.

He said it was the first great white he’d heard of getting caught in the bay, and initially assumed it was a dolphin.

And ultimately, it was Gamez holding the rod when the fish surfaced alongside the boat, leaving everyone aboard absolutely shocked.

I was not prepared to see that, he said of the shark, which his deckhand identified as a great white. I was in awe, super surprised — it was like winning the lottery.

— with the New York Post