Close Encounters
 

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.

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

Epic looking conditions

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

Best kayak picture I've ever seen!

Ninja skills..
 

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.

WTF!!!!! :vroam:

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

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

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

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

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

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

HOLEEEEEEEEE CHIT! Great photo!

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

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

Amazing!!!!

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

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...

incredible... :cheers1:

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.

that'll get yer heart pumpin'