Two Pennsylvania anglers won't soon forget their recent striped bass fishing trip to New Jersey last Wednesday. Not after a monstrous humpback whale nearly landed on the deck of their boat. NBC News reports Zach Piller and his father were angling from an 18-foot Starcraft boat when Piller's father hooked into a fish. He was in the process of fighting it when the anglers noticed a school of baitfish boiling near the surface.
Seconds later, while Piller's cell camera was rolling, the humpback breaches the water only yards away from the boat. The tip of the massive animal's nose barely misses hitting the ship's side. Piller lets loose a string of obscenities at the surprise of the enormous mammal's sudden appearance. It's a moment no one would have believed had they not captured it all on video. Amazingly, the fish stays on the other end of the line through all this commotion!
It's safe to say that's enough to get anyone's heart racing! There was no word on whether they landed that fish or not after the fact. According to Piller, conditions were perfect for the smaller fish gathering close to shore where this footage was taken. The baitfish attracted the stripers and the whales to the area looking to feed. Whales have increasingly been moving into these shallow areas in recent years in search of food.
As a result, close encounters between boats and humans in the New England area seem to be increasing too. In late July, another humpback was filmed breaching and landing on a boat near Plymouth, Massachusetts. The whale was unharmed in the incident, although the boat suffered minor damage to the railings and a hatch. That boat was nearly identical in size to the one Piller and his father was fishing from. These guys were indeed lucky that this was just a close call. Talk about a moment to remember!
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