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A kayak fisherman was losing his mind when a 13-foot Great White Shark popped up next to his tiny kayak to investigate. Matthew Smith was snapper fishing off Black Head Beach in New South Wales, Australia when the large shark got way too close for comfort.
The fisherman had his own camera rolling and while that was going down his buddy was actually flying a drone with an HD camera so they captured this heated moment from multiple angles. You can see the shark circling the fishing kayak before making an abrupt about face where the shark is clearly interested in the kayak.
If it wanted to, the Great White Shark could’ve easily made mincemeat of that kayak and knocked the fisherman overboard. He tosses his sea anchor over to try and spook the shark which backfired. There’s some profanity in the video but it’s all bleeped out so you’re precious ear holes will be fine and all you’ll hear is the beep.
Matthew Smith made it out of there in one piece but the encounter was enough to spook him into upgrading the size of his fishing kayak, possibly even opting for a proper boat in the future. He told Australia’s 9News “The tinny [small open aluminum boat] might get wet for the next couple of weeks, and the kayak might stay in the shed.”
When is it not Shark Season™ these day? As soon as the Great White Sharks leave the Northeast and California in the Summer we start seeing reports of these massive sharks showing up in Florida and Australia. I get migratory patterns and understand these aren’t the same sharks swimming literally across the planet but it seems like the news cycle surrounding Great White Sharks just never quits these days.