iStockphoto / USO
A man by the name of Rick Austin has gone viral after sharing a video from one of his recent fishing trips in Nova Scotia.
The Canadian angler was out in Nova Scotia’s Minas Basin kayak fishing for striped bass. He had some heavy-ish tackle/gear on hand because stripers can get pretty big. The Nova Scotian record for striped bass is 59 pounds but that pales in comparison to the fish he ended up hooking.
In the video, Rick Austin can be heard saying he just caught a mackerel and put it on a hook to see if anything would bite. Then something massive slammed his bait and bent his rod in half as he battled it from his tiny kayak.
Shortly after, the fish revealed itself as a great white shark estimated to be 6 and 8 feet long and to weigh around 250 pounds, estimates that seem to be on the conservative side. There is some colorful language in the video after the shark leaps from the water so be forewarned.
He can be heard saying “She’s pretty big. Yeah, she’s pretty big” Then the great white reveals itself and he adds “Holy liftin’! I mean, seriously people, I got a glimpse of that thing. That thing is massive”
This is an estuary where young great white sharks are known to inhabit during the Summer before heading off into the Atlantic Ocean but it’s safe to say he never expected to hook a great white shark while kayak fishing.
The video was posted to the Striped Bass Fishing Novia Scotia Facebook group and quickly went viral from there. That visual of the great white shark flipping end over end as he battled it from a kayak smaller than the shark itself is priceless.
This caps a banner several weeks of great white shark footage. There have recently been a few drone clips showing great whites swimming within just a few feet of surfers waiting to catch waves.
This clip shows world famous surfer Nathan Florence coming within a few feet of a juvenile great white shark. The shark appeared nothing more than curious and there’s no reason to suspect the shark posed a threat:
Great White Sharks On The Move
This video was filmed just a few days prior to that one above. The footage was captured at San Onofre State Beach just south of San Clemente in California.
Videographer/photographer Kevin Christopherson uploaded the drone footage to his YouTube channel and it immediately went viral with people in awe of how serene the scene is. The juvenile great white shark can be seen swimming lazily just off the surfer’s lineup.
What a Summer it’s been so far!