Two young fishermen in a kayak hauled in a huge bronze whaler shark in the Bay of Plenty last night.

Local man Mathew Taylor was having dinner with his wife on Waihi beach when they saw the two men paddle out past the break.

He said they had a whole kingfish as bait.

Shortly afterwards it was clear they had hooked something big.

The kayakers, thought to be in their early 20s, spent about an hour bringing the in the shark, before they let it go.

It was estimated to have weighed as much as 150 kilograms.