Great White Seen in the Yaquina??????

Bigmaverick · 04-08-2007, 05:10 PM

Rumor has it there was a Great White seen under the 101 bridge in Newport. I heard this from someone that knows someone that works at the Marine science center. Apparently the shark came in the bay, reached the bridge and then went back out to sea. Can anyone report on this??? or is this a big fish story gone wrong.

ron m · 04-08-2007, 05:16 PM

If true, too bad it turned around before getting a sea lion!
ron m

Too Much Lead · 04-08-2007, 06:22 PM

where did the big fish story
originate!...................lol

PIR8 Hook · 04-08-2007, 06:37 PM

I can believe it. A buddy of mine saw a 6' blue shark while scuba diving in Tillamook bay. There's been surfers bitten off Pacific City and other points on the Oregon coast and there have been several sightings or great whites around Haystack Rock.

pablofeesh · 04-08-2007, 07:48 PM

there are plenty of white sharks in oregon, i do not doubt that at all.

TubeFly · 04-09-2007, 07:54 AM

No doubts here. Personally have seen blue sharks at PC and had one bump my dive buddy there once. Seperately also know a hang gliding instructor who often jumped around PC who stated he often saw a (single) Great White cruising the cab reef there fairly often. He was adamant that it was a Great White and not a blue.

pablofeesh · 04-09-2007, 08:16 AM

there are several sightings every year in oregon, more typically south coast, where the larger sea lion rookeries are. i work in port orford all winter and there is between 5 and 20 white shark sighting there alone each witer, i hear of the guys on the coastie chopper seeing them all summer on simpson reef (coos) and they do come into coos bay as well.....too bad no one got a picture, that would have been a good one.

Willis · 04-09-2007, 08:34 AM

when I was a young man I lived in coos bay we were going to charleston for the charley tuna festival and I saw a great white going under the bridge as we walked across it no way I will ever forget that sight

Metal Manipulator · 04-09-2007, 11:58 AM

I better post a look out on the bridge the next time I surf there.

little doc · 04-09-2007, 12:11 PM

I saw one while salmon fishing between the beach and the rock at PC about 10 years ago. There was about 6 feet between the dorsal and the tail

, and it sure looked like jaws 10 feet off my bow. I dont think anything else out there gets that big, and it sure made my 22 foot dory seem verrrry smaaallllllllll.

As an aside, how do you tell a salmon shark from a great white?

Scott.

Threemuch · 04-09-2007, 03:38 PM

A salmon shark can have dark blotches or spots on it and is generally darker colored. They also have pointy teeth, not the big sawblades of a white.

I have seen the landlord at Ano Nuevo and the Farralons while fishing from a boat but never in Oregon. It's always pretty humbling.

I know two guys I used to dive with who were freedive spearfishing for halibut north of pillar point in 50-60' with exceptional top to bottom vis and told me they had a close encounter with whitey. One guy was up, the other down, and a 15 footer came in and circled the guy who was up three times. The guy who was down had a birds eye view of the entire episode, which probably only lasted 15-20 seconds. Seth was at the end of his dive, but stayed down while Joe danced with the shark. The shark kept trying to get behind Joe and he kept spinning to keep his gun between him and the fish. After the third circle, the shark swam off. They said the swim in was the longest 15 minutes of their lives.

Time to rinse the old wetsuit. The whole thing was written up in an article in Hawaii Skin Diver by Joe, and he actually sent in a picture of yours truley that appeared in the article. He said it was the best underwater pic of a freediver that he had. It's my only claim to fame and I wasn't even there.

I did alot of ab diving when I lived down there, but never saw one in the water. Thats a good thing. I think when you see one in typical 5-10' vis, you are in trouble.

Spoonplugger · 04-09-2007, 05:44 PM

In the late 1980's there was a 15 foot great white that hung around haystack rock at PC for about 2 weeks and then left. Some of you may remember that.

My Brother and I got a "too close" of a look at it. He, my Brother, jumped face first into the bottom of the boat and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Get out of here! It's as long as the boat!"

little doc · 04-10-2007, 08:50 AM

Spoonplugger,

I think we saw the same fish. I thought the fish was going to eat my boat. It was one of the only times I have been nervous out on big blue.

Scott.

tracker · 04-10-2007, 11:16 AM

I was diving off the airport end of San Clemente Island maybe 25 years ago. We were there on my friends 30' searay. Anyway I was getting abs and my friend was spearfishing. Mainly sheepshead. I was following along behind him and looking for the abs. I was at the edge of the kelp forest when a very large GW cruised by! Ok I think it was no more than 6' but it made a very big impression on me. Now our boat was about 100yds ofshore, and you are not supposed to land on San Clemente. I swam over to my friend and indicated I want to go to shore. He shook his head, and pointed up! I shook my head and point to shore. He got my point and reluctantly swam along the bottom with me to shore. We crawled out and I explained what I had seen. Now our problem was how to get his wife to bring over the dinghy without telling her why. Well after a lot of yelling back and forth she came over. She was none to happy with us when back on the boat we told her the truth. I would not care if I ever saw one again while diving. Not sure I could do the cage thing with them there. Willing to try hook and release though!