What started out as a normal sunny morning on the water in Monterey Bay, California, turned into an exciting ordeal when YouTuber Ducky2o Fishing found himself being chased by a suspected Great White Shark.
Monterey Bay kayak angler followed by shark
The kayak angler had been out targeting Lingcod and caught only a few rockfish when he saw something large swim beneath his fishing kayak.
“A massive shark passed about one foot below my kayak and I immediately turned the camera on and started motoring away, just assuming it would leave,” shared the YouTuber, adding that he then slowed, as he had line in the water he needed to retrieve.
Motoring along, the angler became unsure if the shark was still in pursuit or not.
“That thing was checking me out,” said the kayak angler. “I mean, that thing looked like it wanted a piece of the kayak.”
In the next few minutes, the kayak angler traveled about a quarter mile away and assuming the shark had left him, planned to keep fishing.
“Like, what if it’s still behind me?” he asked while looking over his shoulder.
He motored a little farther and considered his next move.
Followed by curious shark for more than ten minutes
“I’m not really sure what to do,” the kayak angler began. “I don’t want to stop fishing, but…” the angler broke off, noticing a disturbance in the water. “Oh my God it’s still behind me. It’s chasing me, it’s chasing me!”
Behind the angler, a fin emerged. At this point, the kayak angler narrated, it had been about five minutes since he had first spotted the shark, which had now been following his kayak for as long.
“After seeing its fin behind me, I decided it was probably gonna ram me if I didn’t let it catch up,” explained the angler.
The angler decided it was best not to continue fishing and headed back toward dry land.
“This camera is waterproof right?” the kayak angler said to the camera. “I’d love to get like a sick underwater shot, but at the same time, that thing is trying to do a little inspection on my kayak here.”
The kayak angler noted that he had no fish on board, and hadn’t bled any fish, but he did have squid on board. He noted he found it unlikely the shark could smell the squid on his kayak from the water.
The shark continued to trail the angler from about 30-25 feet behind, according to the kayak angler’s estimates. After about ten minutes, the kayak angler no longer saw any sign of the shark.
“I looked down and there it was,” said the kayak angler in the conclusion of the video. “I guess it’s just curious. I don’t know what it was doing that close to me and why it was following me. I guess my kayaks really interesting to it.”
Monterey Bay and Great White Sharks
On December 21, 2025 approximately 20 miles from where the kayak angler was followed by a shark, open ocean swimmer Erica Fox went missing while on a swim with her husband and members of the open-water swimming club after being bitten by a white shark according to the Associated Press. Her body was later found, marking the second deadly shark attack at Lovers Point in Monterey Bay.
White sharks migrate through Monterey Bay seasonally, and according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, researchers refer to the “empty” ocean between California and Hawaii as the “White Shark cafe”. Typically, white sharks in this area feed on seals and sea lions.
A joint study with Stanford University and the Monterey Bay Aquarium documented that shark bites are on the decline and over the past 50 years, your chance of being bitten by a white shark in California is down 90%. Additionally, the Monterey Bay Aquarium notes that the behavior resulting in what is often referred to as a shark attack is more accurately described as a shark bite.
