text: A keen fisherman got more than he bargained for at the weekend when he reeled in a massive shark after spending hours battling the beast. Max Muggeridge, 19, from Coomera in QLD was camping at Tweed Heads just across the NSW border with his girlfriend when the pair decided to go for an early morning fish. An avid angler, Mr Muggeridge couldn't believe his luck when a huge four metre tiger shark took a bite of his line, and he spent the next three hours trying to bring it to shore. Scroll down for video . Max Muggeridge, 19, from the Gold Coast caught this four metre tiger shark at the weekend . He reeled in the monster on the Tweed coast just inside the NSW border, after a three hour battle . The massive creature is one of the largest tiger sharks ever caught off a beach, according to Max . 'Three hours on the rod and reel, it was both physically and mentally exhausting,' Mr Muggeridge told Daily Mail Australia. 'It definitely challenged my mindset and whether I had the perseverance to push through,' he added. 'We were just about to reel our rods in.. I started my car up and then my rod started ticking over.' The teenager, who is in his own words 'a shark conservationist first and foremost', also said the massive three hour battle left him with some serious battle wounds. 'I was absolutely shattered, I had blood blisters all over my hands, I've got some nice callouses coming up now,' Mr Muggeridge revealed. From the time he hooked the shark just after 7am, to the time he pulled it in around 10.30am the fisherman said it was a constant battle. In a post on Facebook, he described the ordeal in great detail, admitting that at times he wasn't sure if he had the strength to reel the monster in. 'The first hour this shark absolutely made a mockery out of me,' Mr Muggeridge wrote. The huge struggle with the shark left his antique fishing rod bent slightly out of shape . The 19-year-old said the catch was a once in a lifetime opportunity . Mr Muggeridge believes it could have been world record size but he wasn't able to accurately measure the beast . He was with his girlfriend Alexia (right) on the beach, who was snapping photos of him reeling in the shark . 'I was hurting bad, really bad. I've never been in so much pain. Sun burning in my face, shocking burns and blisters all over my hands, sweat and sunscreen dripping into my eyes, and my whole body aching from holding the intense pressure for such an extended time. 'Thoughts crossed my head like I can't do this, It's too big, I'm not prepared enough, I'm on my own...' the post continued. Mr Muggeridge said he didn't even get a proper glimpse of the shark until the second hour, 'when it jumped out of the water!!! What a sight, I have never seen that before!' The teenager also spoke to Nine's Today show on Thursday morning, telling the program he knew what he was up for about '20 seconds in... it definitely shocked me and my girlfriend (who) I was fishing with'. 'It absolutely blew everything I've ever caught out of the water so it was once in a lifetime catch,' he added. Mr Muggeridge said he thinks the catch could have been close to the world record, and he wished he could have measured it accurately. 'The current catch and release world record tiger shark held by Joey Polk is 10 foot eight inches (3.25m) in fork length and 12 foot 9 inches (3.88m) overall length,' he told The Gold Coast Bulletin. After getting a quick measurement of the huge creature, Mr Muggeridge sent it back out to sea . He is pictured here watching the huge creature swim back out into the ocean . Mr Muggeridge (left) and Alexia (right) were camping on the Tweed coast when they were fishing . Mr Muggeridge said he decided to release the shark rather than getting the measurements necessary to prove the record because the animal was in distressed after being landed. Photos show the young man in the shallows with the creature, dwarfed by the huge tiger shark. Snapped by his girlfriend Alexia, Mr Muggeridge said she was taking photos of him while he worked to get the marine animal back in the water and out to safety. He described the catch as a life-long goal, and said that by the end of the struggle he was completely wiped out. 'I collapsed on the beach and tried taking it all in. I had just achieved everything I had ever set out to. It was surreal. The time was 10.30am, meaning I was on the rod and reel for over 3 hours,' Mr Muggeridge posted. Aside from the exhaustion, and battle wounds the teenager also bent his antique rod during the fight, but said he wouldn't change it for anything. Asked about the danger of being in such close proximity to a potentially deadly creature, Mr Muggeridge said he wasn't too concerned. 'You take your chances, I've been around enough sharks to have a basic understanding of how they work,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'But at the end of the day you are dealing with a wild animal.' Max celebrates his catch, and its successful return to the sea .
target: Max Muggeridge reeled in a four metre tiger shark at the weekend .
  He was fishing with girlfriend at Tweed Heads in NSW .
  The Gold Coast man described the catch as the best moment of his life .
  After a three hour battle with the monster Max released the shark .
  He believes it could have been a world record but didn't get measurements .