A group of daring fishermen battled a deadly shark off the coast of Huntington Beach for two hours on Monday – eventually reeling in what might be a world record catch.

The fishermen were led by Jason Johnston, from Mesquite, Texas and they encountered the shortfin mako about 15 miles off the shore of California as they were angling for smaller sharks.

Using over a quarter-mile of line to reel in the shark, the 12 feet long, 8 foot in girth fish was described by one of Johnston’s partners as ‘1323lbs of nightmare’.

Record Breaker: Jason Johnston poses with his catch yesterday off Huntington Beach in California

The largest shortfin mako shark caught by line recorded before this weighed 1,115 pounds, so Johnston and his friends are waiting for independent verification before they can comfortably claim the title.

‘It’s unreal. This thing is definitely a killing machine,’ Johnston said to KTLA.com

Beastly: The enormous shark weighs 1,323 pounds – which could smash the current record

The largest “mako” taken on hook and line worldwide was 505.76 kg (1115 lbs) – this shark reportedly weighs 1,323 pounds

Celebration: Jason Johnston could soon be celebrating being the world record holder for line catching a meko shark

‘Any wrong step and I could have went out of the boat and to the bottom of the ocean.’

The shark will eventually be donated to a research organization for study and while they waited for the certification the fishermen headed out to shark hunt again on Tuesday.

The mako shark is known to be the fastest swimming of all the sharks and is capable of hitting speeds of up to 35 mph and able to jump up to six meters out of the water.

It is recognized as one of the most aggressive sharks in the world and will actively attack any anglers who try to catch it or come across the shark while fishing.

It is predominantly  found in temperate waters such as the Western Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean.

Mako sharks are protected on Californian waters, but licenses are granted to fish for them which ar e available for purchase.

Read more: Daily Mail