Close Encounters

[Whizz Bang]

Possible captions:

Just because the last time you saw the whale he was several hundred yards away and headed away from you, does not mean that he will not turn around.

OR

I realized, with some sadness, that 40lb mono was not going to cut it, no matter how I played the drag.

Epic day on the water, and a sincere thank you to Rob for being a camera Ninja, this happened fast, and behind him.

For clarity, the whale is moving right to left in the frame, I could have touched him with a paddle, that is his left flipper sticking up, and yes I nearly soiled myself.

[cioppino]

Thats insane!! Looks like its gonna give him the biggest high five of his life!!!

Epic looking conditions

[metalbob]

I woulda lost my bowels right there:D Great shot!:D

[mckenzie]

Best kayak picture I've ever seen!

[Rob929]

Nah, I just got lucky with that one- was a pretty good shot! You can tell that was at the moment you were turning back and going into shock.. which was a lot funnier from 30 yards away :D

Great day on the water, and the whale was an added bonus.

[blitzburgh]

WTF!!!!! :vroam:

[dgax65]

Whale-kayak collisions are always funnier from thirty yards away.

That must have got the old ticker thumpin' a little faster.

[teto116]

wtf!!:eek: kind of whale is that? i would of sh$t my pants!

[Hypoxic1]

Obviously not a sinking kayak.
I would call that a world class experience.
Congrats Eric. See you on the water soon
Chris :you_rock:

[fishinkid2010]

No doubt that was exciting! That's a really cool picture.

[dsafety]

That certainly does not look like a Gray Whale fin. Theirs are, well, gray and a totally different shape. That does not look like any whale I have ever seen. The closest in coloring is an Orca but their pectoral fins are more rounded.

You should send that photo to Scripps or some other oceanographic expert for identification. If you can figure out what kind of whale that was, please post. Inquiring minds want to know.

Bob

[tattuna]

HOLEEEEEEEEE CHIT! Great photo!

[driftwood]

has the same markings as a killer whale. That is an insane picutre!

[Ohana]

Looks like a Finback or Sei whale pectoral fin based on the color of the fin and the size. If there were krill in the area, then they will join the party!

Whales are curious and the smaller or younger ones will come up to you. When I had boat and was fishing a kelp paddy about 10 miles out from Dana Point, we had a Minke whale come up next to the boat and hang-out for 15 minutes. The water was really clear and smooth that day, so we saw the whale come right toward the boat while we were drifting and lay there watching us fish.

Been very close to Blue Whales off Oceanside and they look like living breathing islands.

Kevin

[PB fisher]

Amazing!!!!

[467echo]

thats pretty insane Eric, glad to see everybody is welcoming you back to these waters:D! See you on the water soon.

[Tman]

Epic...go buy a lottery ticket, think about the odds of that happening to anyone...he just wanted to give you a high five, what were you thinking?

Definitely a fluke shot...:sifone:

Incredible pic, here's hoping that you will blow that up and frame it...I would...

[lamb]

incredible... :cheers1:

[bender0240]

Holy shit Eric! That's the main reason I haven't been out lately.

My name is Ben, and I have an irrational fear of marine mammals.

[yakrider]

that'll get yer heart pumpin'

[TCS]

That fin must be eight feet long. How big was the rest of the beast?

Did you see it? Definitely not a curious baby.

Could be it saw you at the last minute and that's an avoidance maneuver I guess.

Wow!

[Rob929]

Eric will have to chime in (he had a better view!).. but the whale rolled to its side as it breached then went back under. The pic is the underside of the tail most likely..

Possibly a grey whale?

P.S.-You can see some similar images/ markings if you google whale tail. You will also see many images of some other "whale tail" that is prevalent here in San Diego :D

[stairman]

cool... see thats why lakes suck....shit like that just don't happen at miramar!

[Whizz Bang]

I have no idea how big this guy/girl was. When he came up he was on his side and I had a good close look at the white throat ribbings. Thats part of the reason I framed the photo the way I did because that is an 8 ft rod sticking up in my kayak and if you look at his wake on either side of me you can play the guessing game.

[CobraTandem]

That's an amazing shot!

Found this image tagged as a Humpback Whale. Looks similar.

http://www.marineorganisms.info/images/humpbackwhale.jpg

[Aquahunter]

Thats insane!! Looks like its gonna give him the biggest high five of his life!!!

Epic looking conditions

:hahaha:

[dsafety]

I have no idea how big this guy/girl was. When he came up he was on his side and I had a good close look at the white throat ribbing's. Thats part of the reason I framed the photo the way I did because that is an 8 ft rod sticking up in my kayak and if you look at his wake on either side of me you can play the guessing game.

White throat ribbing's is a good clue along with the coloring of the fin itself. My guess is that it was a blue whale. I sent the photo to a friend who is a whale expert. We will see what she has to say.

Whatever kind of a whale it was, that was a once in a lifetime experience few of us will ever get a chance to enjoy. Whizz, maybe you need to change your nickname to Cpt. Ahab.

Bob

[Spyder]

Insane is right, what a picture!

[Sherm]

Awesome shot. I've seen them 40 yrds away and that was a little un nerving. I can't imagine that up close and personal.

[Fiskadoro]

Blue whale... incredibly cool.
I've had them come so close you could almost touch them off shore in my skiff.

Jim

[robmandel]

seen them pretty close too in malibu. scary yet fascinating nonetheless. do know one guy that got bumped. at least with whales they're not going to come back for a nibble :D:D:D

wonder if megabaits work on whales :reel::reel::reel::biggrinjester::biggrinjester::b iggrinjester:

[walrus]

Wow, that's one "whale of a tale".......

or should I say "tail of a whale"..........

[dfroggy54]

Jesus....the kayak mustve looked like a spec of kelp to the whale. Note to self, wear life jacket when kayaking.

[sandydiego]

That's an amazing shot!

Found this image tagged as a Humpback Whale. Looks similar.

http://www.marineorganisms.info/images/humpbackwhale.jpg

That's a real close incounter of the sea kind.

[GregAndrew]

There has been a ton of krill out there lately, so take care everyone, and keep your head and camera on a swivel. Awesome encounter Eric, and nice to meet you OTW the other day.

[Jimm H]

Was out with Johnny Ceviche a couple yearsa ago and had a mother Gray and its calf come 10feet underneath us. Apparently the calf was curious and they hovered under Johnny for a short while. Then the baby bumps Johnny's yak and next thing he's sprint paddling away! Apparently mom started to surface under him after her calf got too friendly.

Great picture.

Jimm H.

[Tman]

Is Ceviche still fly fishing from the yak?

That conjures up old memories...always a fish on the yak...

[MrPatrick]

My vote is for Finback. I have seen them in LJ cruising the kelp, rubbing off parasites.

[travelin_lite]

I had one come up to me that close by flat rock north of blacks, circled around me then followed for a bit, riding with its head out of water staring at me with a basketball sized eye. just about loaded the shorts on that one. would guess it was about 40' from head to tail.

[KirkG.]

Thats a great picture and a great story to tell over and over again/

KirkG.

[dfroggy54]

I saw two out the other day swimming inside the Kelp an adult and pup. about 100 yards..definetly stay away.

[Aaron&Julie]

I can relate to any heart rate and deep breaths you might have required to calm down after that :eek:.

A few years ago, while fishing in 20 feet (at the most) off of Doheny Beach, I had a full grown grey whale surface for air between Julie and myself. The noise of the blow hole scared the sh*t out of me, but the closeness of his fin was just as unnerving. It almost touched my kayak and could have easily been touched with my paddle.

We love seeing whales, osprey and all sort of other critters while fishing from the kayaks (or boats). But, we're all for a minimum viewing of at least 15 yards when it comes to whales.