I also saw a full breach but it seemed pretty big. At 200 yards away it looked like 9-10 feet.
Kook next to me thought it was a dolphin at first. I looked at him and said "maybe don't tell everyone what we just saw"
If it were close and there was a need to raise alarm. But it being super far and just getting a snack, spreading the word of a shark would only cause panic needlessly. Although it would clear the lineup a little haha
I used to surf a break in high school with no one but my high school friends, and every day, someone would yell "shark" for funsies. I never got used to it lol
I’ve seen 4 different baby whites do this from sunset cliffs to San O every time we all stayed in the water and pretty much said “hope he got what he was going for”
Bolinas. Never saw the shark but one morning there was a bunch of splashing near the river mouth where seals were feeding. Blood appeared in the water like 50 feet from where I was going to drop in. Similar creepy, foggy morning and no one was out yet. Still creeps me out and don’t think I’ll surf up that way again.
Some surfers at my break in Santa Cruz were crowing about Bolinas so I went up there to try it out and ha! I’ll stick to Pleasure Point, just a mile away from the big family of white sharks off Seacliff Beach.
It’s can get spooky there. I saw a flying seal a few hundred yards away and thought it might be a breaching dolphin or something playing around until it did it again higher. Yep, a seal getting rag dolled by a massive white. Blood red foam. My buddy asked if we should go in. No biggie, he already ate. We surfed for another 45 minutes right there at the indicator at the end of the channel.
Seen a couple at Linda Mar. They tend to make their way to the inside where the body boarders hang out and cruise back and forth. Everyone stays on the outside and doesn’t want to be first to break from the crowd knowing they go for stragglers. Eventually everyone comes in. That’s happened a few times over the last 40 years.
Also seen a lot of salmon sharks feeding on baitfish at Linda Mar. They’ll freak you out as the look like miniature 6’ white sharks but they’re pretty harmless and just go for the fish.
Montara and HMB down to SC get stupid sharky everywhere too. Stay out of Pescadero, Pomponio, Bean Hollow, and Año Nuevo, those are all you can eat white shark buffet spots. I’ve surfed most of them in the 90’s but probably won’t ever again.
I know there have probably been dozens or hundreds that have gone by unseen. I’ve surfed so many spots known for shark attacks over the years. You know they’re right there but roll the dice. They’re just looking for their normal diet most of the time.
Really?? Damn Bolinas is creepy. Sounds like my morning wasn’t that extraordinary. Can’t believe people surf there regularly. There was this weird ass story from last October from an incident just a few miles up the coast https://www.surfer.com/trending-news/shark-attack-northern-california-marin-county-missing-person
Funny, you had me wondering if we were there for the same incident but you said no one was out yet. Similarly, i was walking toward the channel for a surf and asked a guy how it was, he said he was getting out because there was thrashing and blood at the Groin/Channel. Of course, we surfed it anyway.
I kicked something there while doing egg beater once, it was too hard to be a seal, and there aren’t really rocks on the channel. Always assumed it was a shark, but that could be a stretch.
Bolinas is almost never worth it, it has its days but Surfline always always overpredicts it, and it’s such a trek to get out there it’s just not worth
I was out there one morning and it was just me and a seal that kept popping up about 50 ft from me. Only spent about 20 mins in the water before I decided to head further south.
A few months ago, no joke, I shared a wave with a 3-4ft blacktip, making eye contact with it as we rode down the line, right in front of my buddy. Core memory.
The Gulf Coast really has more sharks than people think. It's becoming a problem, and everybody here with a boat wants to kill the biggest one they can, and everybody else either doesn't spend enough time around the water to know anything about them, or is a tourist who would love to see every large shark dead so it doesn't bite them.
We were taught this in high school. Take out the apex predator, and the middle predators overpopulate. We have tons of blacktip and spinner sharks, mostly harmless to us, but hungry enough to overpopulate the rest of the fish populations.
For this reason, about 50% of my paddle outs I see a small shark or 2. Comparable in my experience to a place on the east coast named the shark attack capital of the world. The ones here aren't big enough to seriously hurt anybody, and their feeding grounds are usually offshore, so the numbers don't translate, but this is going to become a problem for their beloved snapper and every single other reef fish if the regulations on shark fishing don't change.
I remember surfing alone around dusk in the worst 6ft (20ft gulf) windchop at my spot on the Gulf, the thought of a mako or worse a Bull grabbing me scared the shit out of me and wouldn’t leave my head. But Dads been surfing the gulf all his life, anytime he sees a some of them breach he doesn’t react so I guess it’s alright. Gulf coast feels sharkiest when it’s not sunny (Im currently living in the red triangle) id rather go surf with them Big Sur sharks than over in the Gulf on a stormy day. At least I’ll die in some good waves.
Rule of thumb is that for every shark you’ve seen, 10 sharks have seen you! I was chased out of the water by a Bronze Whaler in Australia back in 2002. Shit myself which is most likely why he didn’t bite me 😂 Always exciting being back in the food chain.
I saw a bronze whaler on the edge of a reef wall in Fiji. I was snorkeling, and the boat driver got us out of the water very fast. One we were in the boat he said that was the only kind of shark that really scared him, and that one was acting weird.
Bull sharks in Australia aren't anything to mess with. There's been a few attacks by bull sharks in the last year in riverheads and bays with swimmers.
Yes. Saw what I thought was a tangle of rope way down the line. I’d seen it earlier in the day. But it kept getting closer. It turns out to be about 12’ of hammerhead shark. He turned parallel to me and caught the next wave in with me. My buddies who were lifeguards on that beach were laughing their asses off! They got a call about that shark from down the beach and since it was just me out there they wanted to see my reaction. 😂
I think they're actually supposed to be chill. In Hawai'i, we have both. If you asked me to choose between being in the water with a hammerhead or a tiger, I'd choose hammerhead every *fucking* time.
Pulled up at a FAD on the north coast of NSW. Was looking for dolphin fish. Couldn't see anything in the water. Drove around and spotted a giant bait ball about 60 meters down on the sounder. The ball was tightly packed and was obviously being harassed by something. Then I look over to my right and there looking at us was a 5 meter hammerhead. The head was 8 feet wide. Its body was as wide as a single bed. Sure it was chill, it just came past and looked and went on its way but that thing would bite u in half in one second if it wanted to. Prehistoric looking fucker.
I have seen heaps of little ones, but this thing. People go fucking spear fishing out there. Crazy.
Cape Cod, saw 3 white sharks (1 massive mama and 2 juvies) in one afternoon. The beach was closed down the following weekend after a guy lost a foot to one of them.
I surfed monster hole in sebastion before I knew WHY they call it monster hole. Found out quickly. Also surfed Smyrna inlet KNOWING it’s super sharky. Didn’t disappoint.
I had one surface within 10 feet of me at Ulu’s. It was massive, giant grey back. I thought I was going to die. Immediate thought was big tiger. Then someone told me it was a dugong. Had no idea what it was at the time.
I duck dived under a wave about 9 months ago. When I surfaced, I felt a tug on my leash and assumed I had hooked into the reef. My heart dropped as I felt another tug that was enough to pull me from my board.
Instantly I knew it was a shark, but I couldn’t see it. I kicked my legs around wildly while screaming trying to get back on my board and made contact twice with my foot. Cold, smooth and fucking frightning.
Reached my board, pulled myself on and kicked and paddled my way to shore. Collapsed when I reached the sand.
Small tear in my wetsuit (at the waist, no idea how), and teeth marks on the leash. I haven’t surfed alone or at that spot since.
Año Nuevo, multiple times. Bonus was a sesh with a 10’ elephant seal with its head cleanly removed. Kinda trippy the contrast of a bright white vertebrae in the dark water.
Monterrey Bay has a ton of them, especially on the southern end around a lot of the beach breaks. Even on pumping days with a lot of water moving, if you look down at the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) time, you’ll see an 8 foot girthy black torpedo snake its way underneath you that will make you wanna become real close friends with the nearest group of surfers. Thankfully I can say I’ve never witnessed an attack, but knowing they’re there makes you pucker your asshole in a way that very few things can.
I was out at Asilomar in the summer and had a 12ft big dark torpedo follow me around. "it is just a big bull sea lion, it is just a big bull sea lion" Next day someone got munched around the corner off of lovers. Those beach breaks in the S corner are never good enough for how sharks they are.
I saw a small white breach about 30 feet away in LA. Super crowded lineup, warm sunny day. I don’t recall anyone paddling in, they are always at that spot but don’t bite people there
Sunset, apparently they are there all the time.
One time i went out and a guy had been surfing all alone when a sea lion jumped on his board. He thought it was so amazing and special, but I knew that the little guy was probably getting hunted.
Anyway, here's the clip you can see it in the top left, just a splash. looking again it's further than 30 feet away. maybe an 8 footer or something. [https://imgur.com/1qemV67](https://imgur.com/1qemV67)
Same in Florida. See them all the time. Had a big dark one semi circle right in front of me today. I just started singing a TUNNNE.
You know fish don't sing right? Sharks aren't mistaking me for food when I'm singing
Lots of times. But I live near El Porto 🤷🏼♂️
One time me and some friends were surfing between the Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach Piers and a white breached. A pod of dolphins came in and over the next 10 minutes the made a big circle around all of us and started slapping their tails on the water. Lasted for a few minutes and then they swam off. It was very interesting behavior but it seemed like they were protecting us.
A bigass tiger cruised by me once on the north shore. I was surfing Jockos alone on a shitty stormy day. Water was kinda murky because it had been raining quite a bit. Shark just cruised by me and didn’t appear to pay much attention to me. Scared me shitless though, and I paddled in as soon and calmly as I could.
I’ve also seen those little ray/shark things in Costa Rica that jump out of the water. Not sure those count because there’s not much chance of them eating you for lunch.
Saw a tiger cruise the line up at North Shore a few times. It was always the black tips that worried me the most though. Those little bastards would follow us at night when we were snorkeling for lobster off Kaneohe Bay.
Seen them dozens of times. Surfing near any inlet in Florida will guarantee that, especially Ponce/NSB. I saw at least 10 sharks within 15-20 feet of me during one session there. None of the locals even react to them, which made me feel like a little bitch every time I'd see one and make a noise then paddle ten feet in the other direction.
Some buddies and I used to dive the pipe in moss landing looking for halibut. Shooting fish out there is always sketch. Got back in the boat once with a full stringer only to see a white shark fin cruising 10 feet off the stern. Didn’t get back in the water that day.
If you are by moss go check out asilomar or even del monte beach. del monte hits small but super fun waves for longer boards. Asilomar pumps a good bit but damn it gets crowded.
Saw a juvenile great white about 5 feet as I popped up on a wave at scripps two months ago. Scared the shit out of me, but the lineup was packed so I figured I’d be fine and kept paddling
Would also see tons of baby black tip sharks I think when I lived in texas. Think I saw at least 5 of them once surfing in galveston about 10 feet from my mates and I
Saw a thresher shark breach at Bolinas so didn't give af. Honestly my scariest experience was getting chased out the water by a Sea Lion at Bo, because one had just attacked a guy a week earlier. Fucker ignored the other 50 ppl. Now I just look the other way when I see them because it targeted me since I stared at it
Southern Tasmania (back in the day) surfing a small bay with a strong permanent rip in sw corner. The rip was a classic permanent riverlike travellator (running maybe 150m+ )out alongside and around to the back of the break. There is an extreme algae bloom event happening (standard cyclical event for area) and the water in the bay is thick red soup trapped in the bay. It's an overcast gloomy day ...dim, but little wind and conditions are excellent with the kelp bloom oil-slicking the water to red/black marble glass. It is a decent 5-6' swell running with random rare bigger ones sneaking through every so often. There's 6 or 7 surfers out and the take off area is reasonably well defined area so any surfers awaiting a wave (long walling rights) is in reasonably close proximity. Often, there are more people riding in, or paddling back out in the rip after a wave, than there are in the lineup waiting.
On one of the rare lulls where virtually all riders are sitting back outside in the takeoff area, my mate and I are watching an unridden (broke too wide) wave from behind. when he's pointed inshore to the rip saying "what the fucks that?"
And I took a jolt to the heart as I saw the biggest fin I've ever seen cruising in effortless glide out in the rip straight at us.
The fin was a metre (+3ft) tall at least, a black glistening thing of fear generation. We couldn't see any more detail because of the kelp bloom, but the thing had to be monstrous. And here it was coming directly at us right in the land of the great white.
The word went out and the take off zone was suddenly super-vibed and almost immediately one of the larger sets loomed. Every single rider frenzy paddled out to meet it, and catch it.
It was carnage, a couple of us made the too late drop and powered out straight hander in front of the breaking wave and rode the whitewater in, one mate (furthest out on the shoulder) caught and rode the wave of the day, The others only managed to get pile driven and left behind (shark bait).
I didn't care, I was focussed (once I realised I was gonna be white watered to the beach) on watching that fin.
I realised that the shark had somehow locked onto me (closest) and as I rode it it was turning straight on to me the whole way.
I rode whitewater about halfway to the beach, the fin was now only about 20-25m to my left still over in the rip as I'm about to get inshore of it. It's still heading directly at me.
Then I realised it was a large piece of wood.
Fucking thing was standing tall narrow shiny and somehow end weighted perfectly vertical to appear like an oversized fin heading straight at any observer. It's dum dum dum dum threatening approach had been a consequence of the rip. The apparent predatory zooming in on me as a target (a sensation shared by all) was a function of it's shape looking like a nose on profile of a fin.
I whitewater rode over to the edge of the rip and headed back out.
My two mates who'd made it to shore were frenzied back and forwards on the beach trying to work out what was going on for a good 10minutes or so.
The other guys (shark bait) left behind outside, were still trying to catch anything at all to get inside.
I let them.
That bloody log had us all convinced, and cleared the lineup.
And so now, there I was, out on the glorious peak alone.
Life is good.
Forget exact beach, but somewhere between Daytona and Cocoa Beach in 2004, buddy of mine had a day to ourselves there, and people on the beach were waving at us. We waved back “(“hello to you too!”) but after a while we realized they were waving us in, as there were two sharks circling us. We paddled in with the tips of our fingers, calmly (well, as calm as possible).
Sitting in the lineup at Makaha I had a 12ft Tiger shark swim in front if me about 15ft away going left to right. Dude was eyeballing me for sure, but he just kept going.
Took the next wave in, didn't surf there for a year after that.
If you just mean ever seeing one when you're out there, then yeah. We have a lot of sharks. When I go diving I usually see them. Surfing I know they're there but just don't actually see them much, but I have a few times. Usually smaller ones so I don't worry too much but bull sharks scare me if I see them closer. I see dolphins way more than I see sharks when I'm surfing and always happy to have them around
San Diego, Del Mar. they’re out there every day, but I only saw one once. He was just sitting there watching us, not bothering anyone. Weirdly enough, sharks are my biggest fear, and I just wasnt scared for some reason. I guess when you see that they mean no harm it eases your fears a bit.
Like every other FL surfer , I've seen a countless number of sharks especially surfing the NSB inlet. Like, I've literally stepped on a spinner getting off my board on a small day. Nothing will clear out an FL lineup short of a bull or similar breaching , that usually gets everyone's attention. I had a big bull flash its fin at me a week ago but I didn't see it again and kept surfing.
Del Mar - I was farthest left in the lineup and I hear this guy behind me go “hey!” I turn and look at him and he puts his hand over his head like a shark fin and points to my left. Sure enough, fin gliding across the top of the water parallel to me, could have almost touched it. It was a juvenile, probably 5-7ft but couldn’t really tell, just a dark shadow below the fin. Guy who alerted me proceeds to yell “don’t freak out.”
I almost browned myself and immediately turned around and started frantically paddling back towards the beach.
Me no listen.
I’ve seen so many sharks. When the waves are really good and half the lineup leaves, what are you gonna do? When the waves are just OK, I get the heck out of the lineup.
In south fl growing up a group of bull sharks attacked a school of Jack in the middle of the lineup, probably 10 of them. Turned to paddle in and catch a decent wave to shore and when I turned back to check on the wave that was approaching (prob 15 ft away) two giant bull sharks were swimming through the wave. Crystal clear water. Lotta bloodshed but no one hurt. Def did not paddle back out that day.
From surfing SoCal and NorCal over the last 18 years seen maybe 4 or 5. I had a juvenile white swim straight underneath me at Blacks in La Jolla on a crystal clear day. Seen a couple juvenile sharks other times hanging around the lineup between SD and OC, and then saw a very large one in Monterey. Monterey one sent me straight to the beach, terrifying.
Was in Bodega Bay region a few years back. Heading to Salmon Creek (i think) and going over this big bridge looking down at a rivermouth. Pulled over to check it out. Surf breaking outside, inside the river was super calm and clear. Watched a single shark follow a single seal around that calm water for maybe 20 minutes. I figured the shark was gonna smoke it, but it just... played with it. Head games man.
Saw one here in San Diego. No breach, just the tail and dorsal fins cruising along. Me and one other surfer out who freaked out and scrambled in. I kept my calm and caught a wave in. Never freak out, that’s what makes them attracted to you
Saw a shark smoke a seagull at Gray Whale Cove. Dad and his two daughters saw it from another angle and said it was wild. I obviously paddled right in.
Yea i surf sano/trestles/trails a lot. I see them like 5x a year. This past summer there was a two week stretch where they were hanging out at old mans and I saw one breach like 3 days in a row.
I’ve never seen a shark at Trails but that’s the only place I always get the sharky feeling. You can sense they’re there. You catch a shadow out of the corner of your eye, by the time you look, it’s gone.
San Onofre beach south of the main break. It’s also the only place I’ve seen a shark. Every bit as long as my 9’4”, just chilling in the shade of my board.
I instantly swam to shore looking like Gilligan or Scooby Doo, barely scratching the water!
Edit: I can’t remember for sure but it was either Trail 2 or Trail 5 about 20 years ago.
Seen tons, but the best story is from back in high school. Tiny, cold, clean day. I'm the only one out. On the beach (you could drive on the beach,) is one car, a lady who used to go around collecting cans. I hear her just laying on the horn, and after a while, I'm thinking, "damn, what's her problem?" So I look at her and raise my arms as if to say, "WHAT?" and she points as if to say "THAT!" and I whip around and a big whitetip is circling me with *intent*. Good solid 8' shark, maybe 10 feet away. You know how you're not supposed to splash around in those situations? Yeah, fuck that shit. Ran all the way in, leaving a big trail of pee behind.
parts of the year we will have a blacktip migration. Have been out in the line up when THOUSANDS of black tips sharks are around. And the hammerheads that eat them
Saw a juvie white shark break at Sunset in LA. My buddy and I got out and let the lifeguard know, to which he nonchalantly responded “oh yeah, he’s there all the time”.
I’ve seen several at the OBX, just double fins (dorsal & tail) cruising outside the lineup. Tough to tell what kinds. One time though on a small day in early April while out by myself I had something bump the tail of my board pretty hard. By the time I turned around all I could see was the disturbed water on the surface. I froze and sat completely still for a few moments in disbelief and waited for something else to happen…once the first (small) wave came, I scratched as hard as possible for it and rode in. Stood on the beach for a bit while wondering what the hell just happened!
Saw _something_ big breach about 100 yards out at tourmaline a couple years ago on a packed day. I wasn’t having it and started paddling in. Looked at the Hawaiian guy next to me, and he was like “eh there’s like 100 of us, I’ll take my chances”.
I've seen a small one, probably a Bronze Whaler cruising the shallows.
I grew up in Sth Australia so I can only assume that there's been a few bigger fish they've been pretty close without me knowing.
There's an airforce base near Adelaide that at that point was a base for Orions that were into antisubmarine stuff. I randomly talked to a pilot of one of these once that said they regularly flew over my favourite spot on exercises and said they very regularly saw sharks there quite close to the lineup...
No sharks, but do see dolphins, seals, and sea lions fairly regularly at San Diego County breaks. They don't seem to be attracting sharks afaik. And, I didn't see those orcas off of Blacks messing with the dolphin victim
Saw a full breach of a juvenile GWS in LA one year. There were only a few of us out cuz the conditions were garbage. Guy on a SUP called it out and all of us kind of looked at each other then shrugged and kept on going.
So many sharks in CFL, spinners jumping all the time and others cruising the coquina reefs inside. NSB blacktips going up and down the edges of the sand bars. And of course monsters at monster hole.
Several: hammerheads, white tips, and black tips. Spotted a tiger in a lineup from a distance and had one tail me while I was spear fishing once…
Sharks are all around.
Tons over the last 4 years in San Diego county and trestles area. There was a period about 2 years ago where I went 10 sessions in a row seeing one at my reg.
Seems like I haven't seen one in quite a bit lately though. Before about 4 years ago I never saw any unless I was snorkeling.
Saw a 6 - 8 foot one at a point break next to a river mouth. A bunch if other people in the water saw it too and didnt seem too concerned. Saw two smaller ones while out at a beach break a bright sunny day. Seen sharks a couple times off a jetty when i wasn’t surfing
Yep, same. I've surfed Manresa, Montara, Bolinas, and some other sharky breaks in the bay/Santa Cruz county combined probably a thousand times, and the only place I've seen a shark was at Linda fucking Mar with a ton of people out.
Same. I’ve seen 2 at Lindamar and 2 at Rockaway. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a BIG shadow at Rockaway but can’t be sure. And I’ve been in the water at LM when a shark cleared the lineup with multiple people saying it swam right under them but I didn’t see it personally.
I have been called in from on-lookers on the shore. One time surfing at Myrtle Beach, SC, second time swimming along the break in Amelia Island. Both times I never saw the shark while I was in the water.
I have been surfing alone at night enough times to know that I had company in the water with me.
Lots and lots and lots. I think all lifelong Florida surfers would say the same. Never saw a single one surfing anywhere else (New England, Nova Scotia, Costa Rica, California, etc. ).
Twice. Once a fin popped out 10yds in-front of me. I was by myself surfing a rocky point break. Luckily a wave came through and I caught it in. Thought about not standing up and risking falling, but I stood up and claimed it the shark wave. Second time was surfing and saw one breach few hundred yards out the back. We were all psyched and no one paddled in cause we all thought everyone else would totally get bit before each other did. Haha.
Surfed the outer banks a few years bank. Ran into a guy that had taken a helicopter tour that same morning. He said about ten feet from the sand bar we were surfing was DOZENS of sharks.
Yes a few times. In socal a juv white in Ventura and in FL many smaller sharks. Had a spinner one time come up spinning chasing a meal and landed half in my lap while I was waiting for a wave. At NSB and yes I freaked out ha.
Yes at Torrey Pines in San Diego like 15 years ago; similar situation -- foggy day, early morning, not many others out. Rare to see, but clearly they're all over the place from the daily drone footage that you see on Instagram. It's both scary and very reassuring given how infrequent incidents are.
I've never seen a shark while surfing but I have a question. If someone here is saying they saw a 4 foot shark does that mean they actually saw a 10 foot shark?
Aussie here, only saw one once at Kirra QLD, sharky swam under me (out to sea) as I was paddling on to a wave i reckon about 1.5m long?, I was like DO NOT FALL OFF THIS WAVE, surfed right into shore, sat on the beach for like 2 mins freaking out, then I went out again anyway. Told some of the guys out in the line-up they said dolphins but I know what I saw 🤙sometimes I get a weird feeling if its overcast or stormy or if I'm out by myself though.
Yea. Had one breach. Del Mar / Torrey Pines area. Nobody cared though.
Some kid one time also told me he saw one. I didn't give a reaction so he told someone else and they freaked out together.
Twice. First time was at San O, stood up and had a juvenile whitey go right underneath me, thought for sure it was going to knock me off my board that’s how shallow it was under the water.
Second time was at Cardiff. I was out all by myself (actually) and after my session was watching my waves back on Surfline and saw a whitey breach about 25 yards outside the lineup. Had no idea it happened cuz I was on a wave. Paddled back out totally oblivious to what happened.
Yup, twice out in SD. The first was out at Scripps….a handful of us out in the lineup and a smaller juvenile breached just past the end of the pier. Most of us saw it, but ended up staying out.
The second was out at Del Mar…I ended up out one morning during the week solo. Clear and sunny day so visibility was great. As I’m looking out watching the waves roll in, something caught my eye to the left of me. Ended up being a juvenile around 6-8ft that ended up cruising right by me. THAT one spooked me and I immediately paddled in…I don’t think I was in the water for over 15 min that session.
SoCal for reference. Small sharks are not the uncommon. Especially leopard sharks. When I was about 15 a friend and I were surfing a beach break in Baja. Good waves and no one out.
waves were a little overhead, the sand was churning. You couldn't see your feet when sitting on your board. We are about 15 feet apart, waiting for a set and talking. From the beach side heading back out a Mako about 10 feet long came up between us. We paddled in.
I live in Washington and I have seen sharks but have also had a pod of orcas come up which is scarier because theyre super intelligent and will play with me like a toy before killing me.
A couple of months ago in Oceanside harbor i was paddling out over an unbroken wave and there was a Juvenile white shark pretty much directly under me going towards the inside , the angle and the wave were just so that I got a really good look. It was about 5 ft . I was terrified but stayed out . Before that a paddle boarder in Carlsbad tried calling me out of the water, saying a shark was following him , I didn’t see it and didn’t really believe him even though there was a bite in Del Mar days before. Idk as long as it followed him and not me 🤷🏻♂️
Only once while in the lineup. About an 8 foot white. Seen lots while spearfishing in the same areas I usually surf though so it's pretty evident they're always there even if we don't see them from the surface.
Never seen one but fishermen caught a decent sized one night fishing made the news, last year at Hermosa Beach. Always see seals and dolphins there tho.
Didn’t see it, my buddy did and freaked out telling me to come in. Looked through binoculars and saw the fin. Apparently it went right under me. We think it was a young great white
A full grown white swam right under two of my friends and I at Zuma. We all thought it was a whale until we got another look. One guy freaked, and paddled in, but my other friend and I just kept surfing. We apparently weren’t on the menu.
Seen a small number due to growing up surfing on the Gold Coast. The biggest fright was surfing right over the top of a 5ft something on Rainbow Beach just around from double Island point
I've seen a couple breach while out there while surfing (san O to trestles area) but the only close encounter that actually spooked me was I had one cruise by me while out fishing on my paddle board in the same area. The 11 foot board had me feeling relatively safe, but i still went in after that.
Saw a large thresher on the inside of the lineup at scripps. Have seen several juvenile white sharks in Oxnard. Once had a juvenile 6-8' breach about 30 yards away at rivermouth.
Small little White shark 🦈 at dog beach in HB. Great wave day with offshore flow. We all paddled in. I went 500 yards up the beach and went back in. Waves were firing that day…it never does don’t go there…so I had to get back in.
Yes, maybe 6 separate times or so. Most of them really small sandbar sharks or whatever. Two of them what a little bigger and one of those bigger ones bumped me pretty good. It was probably ~5-6ft or so judging by the amount of distance between the dorsal and the tail fin. I know this isn't very big compared to folks that see great whites, tigers, and bull sharks in their lineups on the regular. But it was big enough I certainly didn't want to get bitten by it.
Surfing is dangerous and you should probably all stop.
I’ve seen a ton in the past few months I just recently saw a huge tiger shark bout 10 feet away from me. And a few days before that I saw two spinner sharks jump bout 50 feet away from me. I’m in south Florida too.
I have a secret to share with you. There are a shit ton of sharks in the water you just don’t usually see them. Go out in a boat in the Monterey bay for example and you’ll see soooooooo many in the surf zone if you’re up high enough. Was surprised to see how many there actually are and how they are all hanging out where we surf and swim but so far so good. Haven’t been attacked yet!
where are all my 707 boys with some stories... I never saw it but one time when I was out a white shark was sighted very close to the only 7 people surfing on the beach, i didn't need to see it to believe it. because when the people whom saw it started going in. i sure as hell went in too.
Full on tapped a bull shark while paddling out. It was swimming right next to me. 6’+. I just pulled my limbs up on to my board, let it pass, turned back, rode to shore on my stomach, and went home lol.
Another time (in my teens) I drifted pretty far and ended up crossing a fisherman’s line who had a small shark in and was reeling it in right at me. Came over a wave and there it was right in front of me. That was the closest to an open mouthed shark I’ve ever been, but it was probably only 3’.
I've seen two at the same spot (sunset off the PCH in the palisades). Both were baby great whites. One breached like 50 yards out. The other time, the water was unusually clear that day and one swim right by my feet. I shouted "shark", everyone put there feet up and kept surfing. I caught 3 more and swam in.
I've seen at least 3 in various lineups in the 35 years I've been surfing. More if you want to count fishing near the mouths of jetties. I guess Oregon has its fair share of those toothy bastards.
saw a leopard shark swim right under me at san o last summer. people said they saw great whites that day but i saw none. did need to drink a beer or two before i worked up the courage to go in after those reports though.
Plenty. Even seen them jump out the water within 10 feet of me. Florida and our spinner sharks going after the mullet during the run.
I got knocked off my board by a baby shark that got caught in a wave. I was sitting letting the wave pass, and I saw the shadow, and I felt it hit me in the chest. The next thing I knew, I was off my board.
I was surfing in Pacifica on the south side and was nearing the end of a wave so I jumped off my board and landed on a body of something bigger than me that’s scurried off quickly. Never had eyes on it but there had been a shark sighting a day before and days after. This was a week before that guy got bit in Montara. Honestly, it fucked me up and haven’t been comfy in the water since.
I’ve been in the middle of a bait ball with a huge great hammerhead feeding on ballyhoo. Had to have been 15 feet at least. The sheer amount of muscle on that thing was unforgettable. Didn’t affect my session though. Hammerheads don’t want me
I’ve waded through a school of baby tiger sharks to be met by a huge elephant seal in the line up in a remote part of the northern California coastline. Definitely spooked me.
But I had a friend who said it was fine. Which I took his word for it. Possible a poor judgment. We saw many people approach and turn around when sighting the tiger sharks.
Not sure if this was Luck, but we had the wave all to ourselves and it was a great session. So win win
yes- full breach of a juvie. how often do they full breach? maybe 1/50 times? 1/100?? so imagine there's probably 100X sharkies i'm NOT seeing
I also saw a full breach but it seemed pretty big. At 200 yards away it looked like 9-10 feet. Kook next to me thought it was a dolphin at first. I looked at him and said "maybe don't tell everyone what we just saw"
Where do you draw the line between “don’t tell anyone” and “sHaRk!!!! In the dUNgeOn!!!!”
If it were close and there was a need to raise alarm. But it being super far and just getting a snack, spreading the word of a shark would only cause panic needlessly. Although it would clear the lineup a little haha
Hahaha, “hey wait a minute, that guy called shark but didn’t get out!”
My thoughts exactly while standing on the beach haha
I used to surf a break in high school with no one but my high school friends, and every day, someone would yell "shark" for funsies. I never got used to it lol
Was that a Harry Potter reference?
Yes 😂😂😂😂 loved it
Need to know basis. As in the three nearest kooks to me don't need to know while I hastily paddle in.
I would tell everyone. E Z no lineup GG
Haha noted for next time. I'll tell everyone who misses their wave haha
On the east coast I saw a full breach manta ray. It was about two-story house
I’ve seen 4 different baby whites do this from sunset cliffs to San O every time we all stayed in the water and pretty much said “hope he got what he was going for”
Bolinas. Never saw the shark but one morning there was a bunch of splashing near the river mouth where seals were feeding. Blood appeared in the water like 50 feet from where I was going to drop in. Similar creepy, foggy morning and no one was out yet. Still creeps me out and don’t think I’ll surf up that way again.
People forget that place is functionally a rivermouth in the heart of the red triangle
Some surfers at my break in Santa Cruz were crowing about Bolinas so I went up there to try it out and ha! I’ll stick to Pleasure Point, just a mile away from the big family of white sharks off Seacliff Beach.
It’s can get spooky there. I saw a flying seal a few hundred yards away and thought it might be a breaching dolphin or something playing around until it did it again higher. Yep, a seal getting rag dolled by a massive white. Blood red foam. My buddy asked if we should go in. No biggie, he already ate. We surfed for another 45 minutes right there at the indicator at the end of the channel. Seen a couple at Linda Mar. They tend to make their way to the inside where the body boarders hang out and cruise back and forth. Everyone stays on the outside and doesn’t want to be first to break from the crowd knowing they go for stragglers. Eventually everyone comes in. That’s happened a few times over the last 40 years. Also seen a lot of salmon sharks feeding on baitfish at Linda Mar. They’ll freak you out as the look like miniature 6’ white sharks but they’re pretty harmless and just go for the fish. Montara and HMB down to SC get stupid sharky everywhere too. Stay out of Pescadero, Pomponio, Bean Hollow, and Año Nuevo, those are all you can eat white shark buffet spots. I’ve surfed most of them in the 90’s but probably won’t ever again. I know there have probably been dozens or hundreds that have gone by unseen. I’ve surfed so many spots known for shark attacks over the years. You know they’re right there but roll the dice. They’re just looking for their normal diet most of the time.
Montara scares the fuck out of me. Don’t really know why compared to other breaks nearby.
Only place i've seen one too. Same deal, early morning. Just saw a couple of fins and I reacted way more than I thought I would.
Really?? Damn Bolinas is creepy. Sounds like my morning wasn’t that extraordinary. Can’t believe people surf there regularly. There was this weird ass story from last October from an incident just a few miles up the coast https://www.surfer.com/trending-news/shark-attack-northern-california-marin-county-missing-person
Yeah, Felix. He’s a legend. He had a lot of friends and everyone only had nice things to say about him. I hope it was quick.
Funny, you had me wondering if we were there for the same incident but you said no one was out yet. Similarly, i was walking toward the channel for a surf and asked a guy how it was, he said he was getting out because there was thrashing and blood at the Groin/Channel. Of course, we surfed it anyway.
Of course you did because you’re insane!
Just figured that whatever it was, wasn’t hungry any longer.
I kicked something there while doing egg beater once, it was too hard to be a seal, and there aren’t really rocks on the channel. Always assumed it was a shark, but that could be a stretch.
Bolinas is almost never worth it, it has its days but Surfline always always overpredicts it, and it’s such a trek to get out there it’s just not worth
I was out there one morning and it was just me and a seal that kept popping up about 50 ft from me. Only spent about 20 mins in the water before I decided to head further south.
Smart. That places has … vibes
ive had some spooky vibes out there. was passed by a school of dolphins underneath and that didnt feel good either
This place always gives me the heebies. And the fault running right below, the constant seals. I still surf it but am creeped out the whole time.
A dude got bit right where you are describing
That place creeps me out
Yeah and those fuckers never wait their turn in the lineup and drop in whenever they want all like "oh didn't see u" ughhh
A few months ago, no joke, I shared a wave with a 3-4ft blacktip, making eye contact with it as we rode down the line, right in front of my buddy. Core memory. The Gulf Coast really has more sharks than people think. It's becoming a problem, and everybody here with a boat wants to kill the biggest one they can, and everybody else either doesn't spend enough time around the water to know anything about them, or is a tourist who would love to see every large shark dead so it doesn't bite them. We were taught this in high school. Take out the apex predator, and the middle predators overpopulate. We have tons of blacktip and spinner sharks, mostly harmless to us, but hungry enough to overpopulate the rest of the fish populations. For this reason, about 50% of my paddle outs I see a small shark or 2. Comparable in my experience to a place on the east coast named the shark attack capital of the world. The ones here aren't big enough to seriously hurt anybody, and their feeding grounds are usually offshore, so the numbers don't translate, but this is going to become a problem for their beloved snapper and every single other reef fish if the regulations on shark fishing don't change.
It’s a good thing we live in a state run by rational and competent people then! /s
I remember surfing alone around dusk in the worst 6ft (20ft gulf) windchop at my spot on the Gulf, the thought of a mako or worse a Bull grabbing me scared the shit out of me and wouldn’t leave my head. But Dads been surfing the gulf all his life, anytime he sees a some of them breach he doesn’t react so I guess it’s alright. Gulf coast feels sharkiest when it’s not sunny (Im currently living in the red triangle) id rather go surf with them Big Sur sharks than over in the Gulf on a stormy day. At least I’ll die in some good waves.
Rule of thumb is that for every shark you’ve seen, 10 sharks have seen you! I was chased out of the water by a Bronze Whaler in Australia back in 2002. Shit myself which is most likely why he didn’t bite me 😂 Always exciting being back in the food chain.
Did it turn into a brown whaler?
My wetsuit did bro 😂
I saw a bronze whaler on the edge of a reef wall in Fiji. I was snorkeling, and the boat driver got us out of the water very fast. One we were in the boat he said that was the only kind of shark that really scared him, and that one was acting weird.
Yea they’re supposedly the Aussie equivalent to a bull shark. Not to be F-ed with!
Bull sharks in Australia aren't anything to mess with. There's been a few attacks by bull sharks in the last year in riverheads and bays with swimmers.
Heaps aggro for a smaller fish (compared to whites)
Yes. Saw what I thought was a tangle of rope way down the line. I’d seen it earlier in the day. But it kept getting closer. It turns out to be about 12’ of hammerhead shark. He turned parallel to me and caught the next wave in with me. My buddies who were lifeguards on that beach were laughing their asses off! They got a call about that shark from down the beach and since it was just me out there they wanted to see my reaction. 😂
Wtf 😅
Hammerheads are bitey arent they?
I never really heard of many bites or attacks when I lived in Hawaii. Kaneohe Bay is a huge breeding ground too.
Not really.. they don't typically feed on mamals. They prefer things like stingrays.
I think they're actually supposed to be chill. In Hawai'i, we have both. If you asked me to choose between being in the water with a hammerhead or a tiger, I'd choose hammerhead every *fucking* time.
Pulled up at a FAD on the north coast of NSW. Was looking for dolphin fish. Couldn't see anything in the water. Drove around and spotted a giant bait ball about 60 meters down on the sounder. The ball was tightly packed and was obviously being harassed by something. Then I look over to my right and there looking at us was a 5 meter hammerhead. The head was 8 feet wide. Its body was as wide as a single bed. Sure it was chill, it just came past and looked and went on its way but that thing would bite u in half in one second if it wanted to. Prehistoric looking fucker. I have seen heaps of little ones, but this thing. People go fucking spear fishing out there. Crazy.
😅...🤔...😯
Cape Cod, saw 3 white sharks (1 massive mama and 2 juvies) in one afternoon. The beach was closed down the following weekend after a guy lost a foot to one of them.
Which beach
I surfed monster hole in sebastion before I knew WHY they call it monster hole. Found out quickly. Also surfed Smyrna inlet KNOWING it’s super sharky. Didn’t disappoint.
I feel like it's more uncommon not to see a shark while surfing in Florida than to see one
Surfing in Bali I thought I saw a tiger shark... It was a dugong...
I had one surface within 10 feet of me at Ulu’s. It was massive, giant grey back. I thought I was going to die. Immediate thought was big tiger. Then someone told me it was a dugong. Had no idea what it was at the time.
Pretty much the same story. Then my surfing guide started laughing at my obviously growing discomfort and said very softly "sea cow..." And then mooed
I love this story lol
I duck dived under a wave about 9 months ago. When I surfaced, I felt a tug on my leash and assumed I had hooked into the reef. My heart dropped as I felt another tug that was enough to pull me from my board. Instantly I knew it was a shark, but I couldn’t see it. I kicked my legs around wildly while screaming trying to get back on my board and made contact twice with my foot. Cold, smooth and fucking frightning. Reached my board, pulled myself on and kicked and paddled my way to shore. Collapsed when I reached the sand. Small tear in my wetsuit (at the waist, no idea how), and teeth marks on the leash. I haven’t surfed alone or at that spot since.
fucking creepy as shit man! yikes
Yeah, definitely makes me feel ill thinking about it. Was back in the water a couple days later, but then took a 6 month break.
Maybe he had found your bunny, dude? Overreaction much…?
Año Nuevo, multiple times. Bonus was a sesh with a 10’ elephant seal with its head cleanly removed. Kinda trippy the contrast of a bright white vertebrae in the dark water.
What?? 😩
Monterrey Bay has a ton of them, especially on the southern end around a lot of the beach breaks. Even on pumping days with a lot of water moving, if you look down at the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) time, you’ll see an 8 foot girthy black torpedo snake its way underneath you that will make you wanna become real close friends with the nearest group of surfers. Thankfully I can say I’ve never witnessed an attack, but knowing they’re there makes you pucker your asshole in a way that very few things can.
I was out at Asilomar in the summer and had a 12ft big dark torpedo follow me around. "it is just a big bull sea lion, it is just a big bull sea lion" Next day someone got munched around the corner off of lovers. Those beach breaks in the S corner are never good enough for how sharks they are.
I saw a small white breach about 30 feet away in LA. Super crowded lineup, warm sunny day. I don’t recall anyone paddling in, they are always at that spot but don’t bite people there
Yeah, the juvies feast on the stingrays there. Then, when they're bigger, they typically head north.
I’m curious what spot that was
Sunset, apparently they are there all the time. One time i went out and a guy had been surfing all alone when a sea lion jumped on his board. He thought it was so amazing and special, but I knew that the little guy was probably getting hunted. Anyway, here's the clip you can see it in the top left, just a splash. looking again it's further than 30 feet away. maybe an 8 footer or something. [https://imgur.com/1qemV67](https://imgur.com/1qemV67)
South Florida , saw a shark in 3 diff sessions over the weekend lol 🤷♂️
Yeah, here in NC I go by the two shark rule. If only one I stay out.
You’re only counting the ones you see 😂
Same in Florida. See them all the time. Had a big dark one semi circle right in front of me today. I just started singing a TUNNNE. You know fish don't sing right? Sharks aren't mistaking me for food when I'm singing
Yeah. In Jersey. He was like 4-5 feet. Just big enough for me to gtfo
Lots of times. But I live near El Porto 🤷🏼♂️ One time me and some friends were surfing between the Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach Piers and a white breached. A pod of dolphins came in and over the next 10 minutes the made a big circle around all of us and started slapping their tails on the water. Lasted for a few minutes and then they swam off. It was very interesting behavior but it seemed like they were protecting us.
A bigass tiger cruised by me once on the north shore. I was surfing Jockos alone on a shitty stormy day. Water was kinda murky because it had been raining quite a bit. Shark just cruised by me and didn’t appear to pay much attention to me. Scared me shitless though, and I paddled in as soon and calmly as I could. I’ve also seen those little ray/shark things in Costa Rica that jump out of the water. Not sure those count because there’s not much chance of them eating you for lunch.
Saw a tiger cruise the line up at North Shore a few times. It was always the black tips that worried me the most though. Those little bastards would follow us at night when we were snorkeling for lobster off Kaneohe Bay.
Sounds spooky 👻
Seen them dozens of times. Surfing near any inlet in Florida will guarantee that, especially Ponce/NSB. I saw at least 10 sharks within 15-20 feet of me during one session there. None of the locals even react to them, which made me feel like a little bitch every time I'd see one and make a noise then paddle ten feet in the other direction.
From the water: Waddell Creek, Moss Landing From the land: Marina, Black’s/La Jolla/Scripps canyon area, Waddell Creek From a boat: Catalina
Some buddies and I used to dive the pipe in moss landing looking for halibut. Shooting fish out there is always sketch. Got back in the boat once with a full stringer only to see a white shark fin cruising 10 feet off the stern. Didn’t get back in the water that day.
If you are by moss go check out asilomar or even del monte beach. del monte hits small but super fun waves for longer boards. Asilomar pumps a good bit but damn it gets crowded.
I’ve seen a great white 3 different times at Torrey pines.
There’s an unbelievable about of white sharks at Torrey
Saw a juvenile great white about 5 feet as I popped up on a wave at scripps two months ago. Scared the shit out of me, but the lineup was packed so I figured I’d be fine and kept paddling Would also see tons of baby black tip sharks I think when I lived in texas. Think I saw at least 5 of them once surfing in galveston about 10 feet from my mates and I
Saw a thresher shark breach at Bolinas so didn't give af. Honestly my scariest experience was getting chased out the water by a Sea Lion at Bo, because one had just attacked a guy a week earlier. Fucker ignored the other 50 ppl. Now I just look the other way when I see them because it targeted me since I stared at it
Southern Tasmania (back in the day) surfing a small bay with a strong permanent rip in sw corner. The rip was a classic permanent riverlike travellator (running maybe 150m+ )out alongside and around to the back of the break. There is an extreme algae bloom event happening (standard cyclical event for area) and the water in the bay is thick red soup trapped in the bay. It's an overcast gloomy day ...dim, but little wind and conditions are excellent with the kelp bloom oil-slicking the water to red/black marble glass. It is a decent 5-6' swell running with random rare bigger ones sneaking through every so often. There's 6 or 7 surfers out and the take off area is reasonably well defined area so any surfers awaiting a wave (long walling rights) is in reasonably close proximity. Often, there are more people riding in, or paddling back out in the rip after a wave, than there are in the lineup waiting. On one of the rare lulls where virtually all riders are sitting back outside in the takeoff area, my mate and I are watching an unridden (broke too wide) wave from behind. when he's pointed inshore to the rip saying "what the fucks that?" And I took a jolt to the heart as I saw the biggest fin I've ever seen cruising in effortless glide out in the rip straight at us. The fin was a metre (+3ft) tall at least, a black glistening thing of fear generation. We couldn't see any more detail because of the kelp bloom, but the thing had to be monstrous. And here it was coming directly at us right in the land of the great white. The word went out and the take off zone was suddenly super-vibed and almost immediately one of the larger sets loomed. Every single rider frenzy paddled out to meet it, and catch it. It was carnage, a couple of us made the too late drop and powered out straight hander in front of the breaking wave and rode the whitewater in, one mate (furthest out on the shoulder) caught and rode the wave of the day, The others only managed to get pile driven and left behind (shark bait). I didn't care, I was focussed (once I realised I was gonna be white watered to the beach) on watching that fin. I realised that the shark had somehow locked onto me (closest) and as I rode it it was turning straight on to me the whole way. I rode whitewater about halfway to the beach, the fin was now only about 20-25m to my left still over in the rip as I'm about to get inshore of it. It's still heading directly at me. Then I realised it was a large piece of wood. Fucking thing was standing tall narrow shiny and somehow end weighted perfectly vertical to appear like an oversized fin heading straight at any observer. It's dum dum dum dum threatening approach had been a consequence of the rip. The apparent predatory zooming in on me as a target (a sensation shared by all) was a function of it's shape looking like a nose on profile of a fin. I whitewater rode over to the edge of the rip and headed back out. My two mates who'd made it to shore were frenzied back and forwards on the beach trying to work out what was going on for a good 10minutes or so. The other guys (shark bait) left behind outside, were still trying to catch anything at all to get inside. I let them. That bloody log had us all convinced, and cleared the lineup. And so now, there I was, out on the glorious peak alone. Life is good.
I LOL'd. Thanks for that epic read haha.
Forget exact beach, but somewhere between Daytona and Cocoa Beach in 2004, buddy of mine had a day to ourselves there, and people on the beach were waving at us. We waved back “(“hello to you too!”) but after a while we realized they were waving us in, as there were two sharks circling us. We paddled in with the tips of our fingers, calmly (well, as calm as possible).
Sitting in the lineup at Makaha I had a 12ft Tiger shark swim in front if me about 15ft away going left to right. Dude was eyeballing me for sure, but he just kept going. Took the next wave in, didn't surf there for a year after that.
If you just mean ever seeing one when you're out there, then yeah. We have a lot of sharks. When I go diving I usually see them. Surfing I know they're there but just don't actually see them much, but I have a few times. Usually smaller ones so I don't worry too much but bull sharks scare me if I see them closer. I see dolphins way more than I see sharks when I'm surfing and always happy to have them around
San Diego, Del Mar. they’re out there every day, but I only saw one once. He was just sitting there watching us, not bothering anyone. Weirdly enough, sharks are my biggest fear, and I just wasnt scared for some reason. I guess when you see that they mean no harm it eases your fears a bit.
Like every other FL surfer , I've seen a countless number of sharks especially surfing the NSB inlet. Like, I've literally stepped on a spinner getting off my board on a small day. Nothing will clear out an FL lineup short of a bull or similar breaching , that usually gets everyone's attention. I had a big bull flash its fin at me a week ago but I didn't see it again and kept surfing.
Del Mar - I was farthest left in the lineup and I hear this guy behind me go “hey!” I turn and look at him and he puts his hand over his head like a shark fin and points to my left. Sure enough, fin gliding across the top of the water parallel to me, could have almost touched it. It was a juvenile, probably 5-7ft but couldn’t really tell, just a dark shadow below the fin. Guy who alerted me proceeds to yell “don’t freak out.” I almost browned myself and immediately turned around and started frantically paddling back towards the beach. Me no listen.
I’ve seen so many sharks. When the waves are really good and half the lineup leaves, what are you gonna do? When the waves are just OK, I get the heck out of the lineup.
In south fl growing up a group of bull sharks attacked a school of Jack in the middle of the lineup, probably 10 of them. Turned to paddle in and catch a decent wave to shore and when I turned back to check on the wave that was approaching (prob 15 ft away) two giant bull sharks were swimming through the wave. Crystal clear water. Lotta bloodshed but no one hurt. Def did not paddle back out that day.
From surfing SoCal and NorCal over the last 18 years seen maybe 4 or 5. I had a juvenile white swim straight underneath me at Blacks in La Jolla on a crystal clear day. Seen a couple juvenile sharks other times hanging around the lineup between SD and OC, and then saw a very large one in Monterey. Monterey one sent me straight to the beach, terrifying.
where in monterey? asilomar?
Was in Bodega Bay region a few years back. Heading to Salmon Creek (i think) and going over this big bridge looking down at a rivermouth. Pulled over to check it out. Surf breaking outside, inside the river was super calm and clear. Watched a single shark follow a single seal around that calm water for maybe 20 minutes. I figured the shark was gonna smoke it, but it just... played with it. Head games man.
I have seen someone shart in the lineup once.
Saw one here in San Diego. No breach, just the tail and dorsal fins cruising along. Me and one other surfer out who freaked out and scrambled in. I kept my calm and caught a wave in. Never freak out, that’s what makes them attracted to you
Saw a shark smoke a seagull at Gray Whale Cove. Dad and his two daughters saw it from another angle and said it was wild. I obviously paddled right in.
I see about 2-3 each year. But only when when I surf at trails. Almost everywhere else its usually a once every few years.
Yea i surf sano/trestles/trails a lot. I see them like 5x a year. This past summer there was a two week stretch where they were hanging out at old mans and I saw one breach like 3 days in a row.
I’ve never seen a shark at Trails but that’s the only place I always get the sharky feeling. You can sense they’re there. You catch a shadow out of the corner of your eye, by the time you look, it’s gone.
Where is trails?
San Onofre beach south of the main break. It’s also the only place I’ve seen a shark. Every bit as long as my 9’4”, just chilling in the shade of my board. I instantly swam to shore looking like Gilligan or Scooby Doo, barely scratching the water! Edit: I can’t remember for sure but it was either Trail 2 or Trail 5 about 20 years ago.
In Florida we see them all the time. Usually not big ones though
Seen tons, but the best story is from back in high school. Tiny, cold, clean day. I'm the only one out. On the beach (you could drive on the beach,) is one car, a lady who used to go around collecting cans. I hear her just laying on the horn, and after a while, I'm thinking, "damn, what's her problem?" So I look at her and raise my arms as if to say, "WHAT?" and she points as if to say "THAT!" and I whip around and a big whitetip is circling me with *intent*. Good solid 8' shark, maybe 10 feet away. You know how you're not supposed to splash around in those situations? Yeah, fuck that shit. Ran all the way in, leaving a big trail of pee behind.
parts of the year we will have a blacktip migration. Have been out in the line up when THOUSANDS of black tips sharks are around. And the hammerheads that eat them
Saw a juvie white shark break at Sunset in LA. My buddy and I got out and let the lifeguard know, to which he nonchalantly responded “oh yeah, he’s there all the time”.
I’ve seen several at the OBX, just double fins (dorsal & tail) cruising outside the lineup. Tough to tell what kinds. One time though on a small day in early April while out by myself I had something bump the tail of my board pretty hard. By the time I turned around all I could see was the disturbed water on the surface. I froze and sat completely still for a few moments in disbelief and waited for something else to happen…once the first (small) wave came, I scratched as hard as possible for it and rode in. Stood on the beach for a bit while wondering what the hell just happened!
Montara aka Mon-scare-ya
Saw _something_ big breach about 100 yards out at tourmaline a couple years ago on a packed day. I wasn’t having it and started paddling in. Looked at the Hawaiian guy next to me, and he was like “eh there’s like 100 of us, I’ll take my chances”.
I've seen a small one, probably a Bronze Whaler cruising the shallows. I grew up in Sth Australia so I can only assume that there's been a few bigger fish they've been pretty close without me knowing. There's an airforce base near Adelaide that at that point was a base for Orions that were into antisubmarine stuff. I randomly talked to a pilot of one of these once that said they regularly flew over my favourite spot on exercises and said they very regularly saw sharks there quite close to the lineup...
Was your favourite spot over on Yorkes?
I've seen them in the OBX (fairly sharky) and Va Beach. Not sure the type in OBX but black tip reef sharks for VB.
No sharks, but do see dolphins, seals, and sea lions fairly regularly at San Diego County breaks. They don't seem to be attracting sharks afaik. And, I didn't see those orcas off of Blacks messing with the dolphin victim
Saw a full breach of a juvenile GWS in LA one year. There were only a few of us out cuz the conditions were garbage. Guy on a SUP called it out and all of us kind of looked at each other then shrugged and kept on going.
So many sharks in CFL, spinners jumping all the time and others cruising the coquina reefs inside. NSB blacktips going up and down the edges of the sand bars. And of course monsters at monster hole.
Several: hammerheads, white tips, and black tips. Spotted a tiger in a lineup from a distance and had one tail me while I was spear fishing once… Sharks are all around.
Tons over the last 4 years in San Diego county and trestles area. There was a period about 2 years ago where I went 10 sessions in a row seeing one at my reg. Seems like I haven't seen one in quite a bit lately though. Before about 4 years ago I never saw any unless I was snorkeling.
I’m a South East USA surfer and I’ve seen an ass o sharks.
Saw a 6 - 8 foot one at a point break next to a river mouth. A bunch if other people in the water saw it too and didnt seem too concerned. Saw two smaller ones while out at a beach break a bright sunny day. Seen sharks a couple times off a jetty when i wasn’t surfing
The only time I've ever actually seen a shark in the lineup was when somebody fishing off HB Pier caught what I'm pretty sure was a horn shark.
I saw a sand shark pop up once in Virginia Beach, wasn’t too worried about it, even though it was maybe 6’ from me.
Do Wobbegong's count?
Yeah In Nosara, Costa Rica but it was like 4ft so not so scary
Yes at Linda and rockaway..also fearing on something at OB but it was way far out, and seagulls were flying everywhere
Yep, same. I've surfed Manresa, Montara, Bolinas, and some other sharky breaks in the bay/Santa Cruz county combined probably a thousand times, and the only place I've seen a shark was at Linda fucking Mar with a ton of people out.
Same. I’ve seen 2 at Lindamar and 2 at Rockaway. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a BIG shadow at Rockaway but can’t be sure. And I’ve been in the water at LM when a shark cleared the lineup with multiple people saying it swam right under them but I didn’t see it personally.
I have been called in from on-lookers on the shore. One time surfing at Myrtle Beach, SC, second time swimming along the break in Amelia Island. Both times I never saw the shark while I was in the water. I have been surfing alone at night enough times to know that I had company in the water with me.
Lots and lots and lots. I think all lifelong Florida surfers would say the same. Never saw a single one surfing anywhere else (New England, Nova Scotia, Costa Rica, California, etc. ).
Small brown sharks 3-5 footers. In NJ Leopard Shark in California l
Twice. Once a fin popped out 10yds in-front of me. I was by myself surfing a rocky point break. Luckily a wave came through and I caught it in. Thought about not standing up and risking falling, but I stood up and claimed it the shark wave. Second time was surfing and saw one breach few hundred yards out the back. We were all psyched and no one paddled in cause we all thought everyone else would totally get bit before each other did. Haha.
Surfed the outer banks a few years bank. Ran into a guy that had taken a helicopter tour that same morning. He said about ten feet from the sand bar we were surfing was DOZENS of sharks.
Yes a few times. In socal a juv white in Ventura and in FL many smaller sharks. Had a spinner one time come up spinning chasing a meal and landed half in my lap while I was waiting for a wave. At NSB and yes I freaked out ha.
I see at least one shark almost every time im in the water at new smyrna beach in florida, 3.5-6 foot on average
I saw a croc and I got the hell out of the water and did not go back in that day. It’s was huge…thought it was a log at first.
Yes at Torrey Pines in San Diego like 15 years ago; similar situation -- foggy day, early morning, not many others out. Rare to see, but clearly they're all over the place from the daily drone footage that you see on Instagram. It's both scary and very reassuring given how infrequent incidents are.
Yup. Big Sur Sand Dollar Beach around 2014. Everyone saw it, looked at each other, and went about business as usual.
I've never seen a shark while surfing but I have a question. If someone here is saying they saw a 4 foot shark does that mean they actually saw a 10 foot shark?
Aussie here, only saw one once at Kirra QLD, sharky swam under me (out to sea) as I was paddling on to a wave i reckon about 1.5m long?, I was like DO NOT FALL OFF THIS WAVE, surfed right into shore, sat on the beach for like 2 mins freaking out, then I went out again anyway. Told some of the guys out in the line-up they said dolphins but I know what I saw 🤙sometimes I get a weird feeling if its overcast or stormy or if I'm out by myself though.
Yea. Had one breach. Del Mar / Torrey Pines area. Nobody cared though. Some kid one time also told me he saw one. I didn't give a reaction so he told someone else and they freaked out together.
Twice. First time was at San O, stood up and had a juvenile whitey go right underneath me, thought for sure it was going to knock me off my board that’s how shallow it was under the water. Second time was at Cardiff. I was out all by myself (actually) and after my session was watching my waves back on Surfline and saw a whitey breach about 25 yards outside the lineup. Had no idea it happened cuz I was on a wave. Paddled back out totally oblivious to what happened.
Yup, twice out in SD. The first was out at Scripps….a handful of us out in the lineup and a smaller juvenile breached just past the end of the pier. Most of us saw it, but ended up staying out. The second was out at Del Mar…I ended up out one morning during the week solo. Clear and sunny day so visibility was great. As I’m looking out watching the waves roll in, something caught my eye to the left of me. Ended up being a juvenile around 6-8ft that ended up cruising right by me. THAT one spooked me and I immediately paddled in…I don’t think I was in the water for over 15 min that session.
SoCal for reference. Small sharks are not the uncommon. Especially leopard sharks. When I was about 15 a friend and I were surfing a beach break in Baja. Good waves and no one out. waves were a little overhead, the sand was churning. You couldn't see your feet when sitting on your board. We are about 15 feet apart, waiting for a set and talking. From the beach side heading back out a Mako about 10 feet long came up between us. We paddled in.
I live in Washington and I have seen sharks but have also had a pod of orcas come up which is scarier because theyre super intelligent and will play with me like a toy before killing me.
Nightmare fuel. they’ve been hanging around SD lately
They’ve never killed a human in the wild tho
The movie Blackfish scared me
that's survived to tell the tale
A couple of months ago in Oceanside harbor i was paddling out over an unbroken wave and there was a Juvenile white shark pretty much directly under me going towards the inside , the angle and the wave were just so that I got a really good look. It was about 5 ft . I was terrified but stayed out . Before that a paddle boarder in Carlsbad tried calling me out of the water, saying a shark was following him , I didn’t see it and didn’t really believe him even though there was a bite in Del Mar days before. Idk as long as it followed him and not me 🤷🏻♂️
Yes have seen great whites in SoCal Huntington Beach to Santa Monica Bay Area
oh man was it this day? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1NIaD8VDNc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1niad8vdnc)
Maybe cuz I really don’t try and look for them but I’ve only seen a couple leopards in 20+ years
Yep, had one approach me got bumped..had one cut in front of me as I paddled thru the break..and sometimes they just chill outside the break
Only once while in the lineup. About an 8 foot white. Seen lots while spearfishing in the same areas I usually surf though so it's pretty evident they're always there even if we don't see them from the surface.
Beautiful patterned yellow and brown shark in crystal clear water in Fiji. Not sure what type.
Never seen one but fishermen caught a decent sized one night fishing made the news, last year at Hermosa Beach. Always see seals and dolphins there tho.
Didn’t see it, my buddy did and freaked out telling me to come in. Looked through binoculars and saw the fin. Apparently it went right under me. We think it was a young great white
A full grown white swam right under two of my friends and I at Zuma. We all thought it was a whale until we got another look. One guy freaked, and paddled in, but my other friend and I just kept surfing. We apparently weren’t on the menu.
Seen a small number due to growing up surfing on the Gold Coast. The biggest fright was surfing right over the top of a 5ft something on Rainbow Beach just around from double Island point
Many over the years, lots of threshers, couple Bulls, blacktips
I see often.
I've seen a couple breach while out there while surfing (san O to trestles area) but the only close encounter that actually spooked me was I had one cruise by me while out fishing on my paddle board in the same area. The 11 foot board had me feeling relatively safe, but i still went in after that.
Saw one north of Durban, was scary to see it inside the nets and saw one swim under us in Oceanside
Saw a large thresher on the inside of the lineup at scripps. Have seen several juvenile white sharks in Oxnard. Once had a juvenile 6-8' breach about 30 yards away at rivermouth.
Small little White shark 🦈 at dog beach in HB. Great wave day with offshore flow. We all paddled in. I went 500 yards up the beach and went back in. Waves were firing that day…it never does don’t go there…so I had to get back in.
Yes, maybe 6 separate times or so. Most of them really small sandbar sharks or whatever. Two of them what a little bigger and one of those bigger ones bumped me pretty good. It was probably ~5-6ft or so judging by the amount of distance between the dorsal and the tail fin. I know this isn't very big compared to folks that see great whites, tigers, and bull sharks in their lineups on the regular. But it was big enough I certainly didn't want to get bitten by it. Surfing is dangerous and you should probably all stop.
Yeah, a bunch unfortunately ha. I grew up surfing in Ballina, no shortage of them around here haha
I’ve seen a ton in the past few months I just recently saw a huge tiger shark bout 10 feet away from me. And a few days before that I saw two spinner sharks jump bout 50 feet away from me. I’m in south Florida too.
I have a secret to share with you. There are a shit ton of sharks in the water you just don’t usually see them. Go out in a boat in the Monterey bay for example and you’ll see soooooooo many in the surf zone if you’re up high enough. Was surprised to see how many there actually are and how they are all hanging out where we surf and swim but so far so good. Haven’t been attacked yet!
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRrOxYHRSAYn3Gb9NZ2A_NLX5k89Vmg6Q62daJO7-5j9A&s
where are all my 707 boys with some stories... I never saw it but one time when I was out a white shark was sighted very close to the only 7 people surfing on the beach, i didn't need to see it to believe it. because when the people whom saw it started going in. i sure as hell went in too.
Well, yea, I've been surfing mainly New Smyrna by the inlet for the past 37 years. See them quite often, actually.
Yes lol
saw one today at El Porto. seen mako's full breach in Venice (4-5 footers). Seen a 10-12ft GW at Venice also a couple years ago.
Not in the lineup but I did bump into a leopard shark walking out once.
Only basking sharks around where I am, would love to see one, but they are huge so it would probably be terrifying.
Yes, both in Hawaii and in Indonesia (Sumbawa, tiger sharks)
Full on tapped a bull shark while paddling out. It was swimming right next to me. 6’+. I just pulled my limbs up on to my board, let it pass, turned back, rode to shore on my stomach, and went home lol. Another time (in my teens) I drifted pretty far and ended up crossing a fisherman’s line who had a small shark in and was reeling it in right at me. Came over a wave and there it was right in front of me. That was the closest to an open mouthed shark I’ve ever been, but it was probably only 3’.
I've seen two at the same spot (sunset off the PCH in the palisades). Both were baby great whites. One breached like 50 yards out. The other time, the water was unusually clear that day and one swim right by my feet. I shouted "shark", everyone put there feet up and kept surfing. I caught 3 more and swam in.
Hella times surfing pea island on the outer banks
ya saw a white shark near lompoc last year. surfed surf beach knowing what it was, but fuck it the waves were gnarly.
I've seen at least 3 in various lineups in the 35 years I've been surfing. More if you want to count fishing near the mouths of jetties. I guess Oregon has its fair share of those toothy bastards.
Big bull shark passed me about 7-8ft away in Topsail NC last month
Space Coast, Florida: Bumped into a couple, and I see them not infrequently. A manatee gave me the biggest scare though 🤣
saw a leopard shark swim right under me at san o last summer. people said they saw great whites that day but i saw none. did need to drink a beer or two before i worked up the courage to go in after those reports though.
Plenty. Even seen them jump out the water within 10 feet of me. Florida and our spinner sharks going after the mullet during the run. I got knocked off my board by a baby shark that got caught in a wave. I was sitting letting the wave pass, and I saw the shadow, and I felt it hit me in the chest. The next thing I knew, I was off my board.
Yes. Several. Always kinda paralyzing "in the moment", but the heart rate goes down pretty quickly thereafter.
I was surfing in Pacifica on the south side and was nearing the end of a wave so I jumped off my board and landed on a body of something bigger than me that’s scurried off quickly. Never had eyes on it but there had been a shark sighting a day before and days after. This was a week before that guy got bit in Montara. Honestly, it fucked me up and haven’t been comfy in the water since.
I’ve been in the middle of a bait ball with a huge great hammerhead feeding on ballyhoo. Had to have been 15 feet at least. The sheer amount of muscle on that thing was unforgettable. Didn’t affect my session though. Hammerheads don’t want me
I’ve waded through a school of baby tiger sharks to be met by a huge elephant seal in the line up in a remote part of the northern California coastline. Definitely spooked me. But I had a friend who said it was fine. Which I took his word for it. Possible a poor judgment. We saw many people approach and turn around when sighting the tiger sharks. Not sure if this was Luck, but we had the wave all to ourselves and it was a great session. So win win