I think we all have that same question you had. I've sure wondered. Good for you that your answer wasn't screaming, crapping, or running. Gotta figure that by the time you see the shark it has already seen/heard/smelled you. And if it was going to close the deal so to speak, you wouldn't see it coming. I've gotten drive bys from about every marine creature that lives in So Cal except a white. I look at that as a when and not in if. Thanks for sharing your "when" with us. Mike

Man! 15 years of kayak fishing and I never saw a GW. I use to think the same thing...What would I do? Besides butterflies in my stomach I think I would just sit there.

Hey Mike, thanks again for the help in the surf yesterday! It was greatly appreciated after my not so graceful attempt at landing! That is pretty cool seeing that GW

Hey Mike we both launched at the same time and I talked to you while we where both trolling our macs. You where heading back north and I was heading south west. I was in the white X Factor. You didn't say it then so it must have happended afterwards. I'm always looking around for that and after having caught and seen up close Makos and had a gray whale take my line and give me a ride. I think I would react like you. Another cool experience. The number of seals that were out yesterday and several where very vocal anouncing themselves constantly. I only lost 2 macs to the seals with all the bait that was out there, no wonder they often swam by without bothering my flylined mac. I was hopping for another hook up, but nothing. At least on Teusday I hooked a yellow around 3:15 fought it for about 15 minutes before loosing it when I tried to untangle my braid from my flyline rod on the end of my pole with the Iron. Another leason learned when fighting a big fish everything else is not important. I should have just cut the flylined line and let the mac swim away with the 100+ feet of braid. The number of runs it made and peeling line with drag screaming and pole absorbing the head shake where an awesome experience. When messing with the other braid at the tip of the rod it allowed the fish to head shake off the Iron. I was so hopping for more of the same. The wind made it a bit choppy in the early afternoon but it settled down some, later on. The surf was so much smaller than on Tuesday. Easy launch and landing. Thanks for sharing the experience. Mark

I seen one a few years ago, I screamed like a little gurl, then just about soiled my waders....

Wouldn't reeling in your mac to avoid a tangle be a better lesson learned? To me, cutting your line could cause needless injury, and possibly kill, any number of marine mammals or birds while your happiness would only last until you finished eating your yellow.

It's not possible to reel in the second line when the fish on the Iron is pulling hard and trying to head shake off the Iron. It was not like there was a hook on bait and it swallowed it. I fought it for a while unfortunately at the time I thought I had tired it some giving a little time to pull the second line from the tip guide. Yellows are very strong and when they realize they are getting reeled in they sound again and again. There wasn't a problem until the fish pulled my kayak and after some time was trying to circle around causing my kayak to go back over the slack on the other line. Usually I don't have two lines in the water but after hours of trolling and soaking the mac without any action and seeing a bait ball I thought it was worth a try with the Iron. If the reel was a motor I could have easily pushed a button to retreive the second line. Cutting the other line might not be the best option but it would be what I would do if the same thing happened again. If someone doesn't agree then, they don't have to do it.

paddle about 100 yards of lj launch and meter the depth. Keep metering a few times on your way out. Its a pretty deep canyon close to shore.

Me too - but in Solana
 

Two weekends ago I spotted a large black triangular dorsal fin briefly emerge from the water about 40-yards off the outer Solana kelp. It was moving south. The seal lions seemed agitated lifting their heads far out of the water looking in that direction too. I was shaking scared and paddled to center kelp and waited for a while before resuming fishing. The fin traveled only about 15-yards before sinking and disappearing.

repellent
 

I wonder if there is some convenient shark repellent that would be pragmatic to carry? That or just bring my 357-magnum! Might be good for both sharks and those inconsiderate full throttle power-boaters...Joke!

Maybe if you had a nasty burrito for breakfast it would ruin its appetite right when you crap your pants.

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Cool read!

I would have made a mess.
 

I think I would have screamed out my butt if i saw a GWS that close. Gotta keep fishing tho! :gnorsi:

Cool story Mike, and hearing it at the launch was cool too. Too bad for both of us the whites and yellows didn't show up.
Thanks again for getting my wheels back to me.

Aaron

Great story and glad you didnt soil your waders! I was actually talking to friends about those white sharks being out there this past weekend before we fished the squid beds is O'side. Way to KCCO!

Great story.

Don't kid yourselves,He was checking you out to see if you looked like a furball:drool5: yum yum doughnut.Probably was lookin you over long before you saw him.:afraid:

I had my question answered today in La Jolla
 

Had something big, wide and white swim under my yak and away from me a little over a week ago.....could not make it out but it was big .....appeared more white and I couldn't appreciate any grey on it but the water was a bit dirty.....thanks for sharing your experience

I went on a friends 24' Seaswirl overnight fishing in Mexico last year. It was like 2-3am and we were making bait in some thick fog. Anyways with the floodlights pointing in the water we see a shadow pass through about 3/4 of the length of the boat, it passed under the light and I seen it's eye looking at me. I was in awe and very nervous but glad to say that I've seen one in person, I don't know how I'd react when I see one on my kayak, but I could assume the shark would taste either poo or piss seeping through a scupper hole 😝


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That's what I was thinking!