FLORENCE, Ore. -- A surfer from Eugene, Ore. was attacked by a shark on the Oregon coast Tuesday night, authorities said.

KGW photo

Tom Larson's injured foot.

Tom Larson was surfing with friends at the south jetty in Florence when he felt a shark pull him off his board and bite into his foot. Larson said he beat the shark with his surf board until it let go, then he paddled to shore.

"It felt like a vise, or a bear trap even, right on my foot, and he started shaking it, and I knew it was a shark by then, so I started screaming, ‘shark!’ as loud as I could, because my friends were in the water, and I wanted them to get out,” he said.

Larson, who has eight holes in his foot, described the physical sensation as consisting more of pressure than pain, saying he didn’t feel much of the latter.

“I mean, the fear and the adrenaline was amazing because you see that fin, I didn't see his face but I saw that fin, so I knew what was happening, and every surfer dreads that,” he said.

Larson received 35 stitches and now walks with the help of crutches. Doctors said none of his tendons were severed and he is expected to make a full recovery.

He plans to continue surfing.