Over the Fourth of July weekend, 50-year-old real estate professional Steven Robles was attacked by a great white shark at Southern California's Manhattan Beach and lived to tell about it.

On Sunday, Robles, a long distance swimmer from Lomita, California, told KTLA that he and the 7-foot shark had stared eye-to-eye prior to it lunging at him and biting the right side of his chest.

"The shark came up from the bottom, I saw him swimming right in front of me then he made a very sharp left and lunged right at my chest," Robles said. "I was staring eyeball to eyeball with this shark."

According to The Los Angeles Times, sharks generally attack their prey from below so they can make out the silhouettes against the lighter surface. 

Robles had been swimming Saturday with a group of people from Hermosa Beach pier to the Manhattan Beach Pier where fisherman had caught the juvenile shark on a fishing line. For 45 minutes the shark was thrashing around with the line caught in its mouth but during that time Robles crossed into the predator's path and was attacked, several witnesses told authorities.

"But I grabbed his nose and with this hand and started pushing him, trying to pry him off my chest and he released himself and swam away immediately," Robles said. "I never saw him again."

After suffering a bite on the right side of his rib cage, surfers nearby helped Robles to shore. He was transported to UCLA Medical Center where he received treatment and a cast for his right arm and forearm, The Times reported.

"I still feel pretty shaken up," Robles told CNN on Sunday. "It was pretty scary out there."

Rumors began to spread that the fisherman had thrown chum into the water to attract young great white sharks, which are common in the area. However the fisherman and Eric Martin, the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium co-director, insisted that wasn't true, according to The Times.

The fisherman, who asked to be identified by his first name, Jason, for his safety from angry swimmers and surfers, said he and a friend were using frozen sardines to catch large bat rays. He said the two had gone to other piers in recent months because fisherman at Manhattan Beach had been looking to catch great whites. 

Jason said the two fishermen were about to go home right before the shark got caught on the line. 

Capt. Tracy Lizotte, a Los Angeles County lifeguard, said it is not uncommon to spot a shark swimming in the area past the pier's edge.

"That's where they live," Lizotte said. "It's their home."

According to The Times, there has been an increase in great white shark sightings at a few Southern California beaches, especially Manhattan Beach, which attracts many surfers and paddleboarders. Since 1950, there have been 13 shark-attack fatalities in the state.

On Sunday, Robles wife Glenda told KTLA that she was thankful her husband "has a second chance."