A fisherman was left thanking Jesus after he narrowly escaped the jaws of a huge shark that chomped down on the angler’s kayak in a heart-pounding video that you have to see to believe. Most fishermen bemoan the “one that got away,” but not this time.
Scott Haraguchi was out fishing in his kayak in Hawaiia on a Friday afternoon when he experienced an encounter that no one would have believed if he hadn’t captured it on camera. While fishing in shallow waters, over a mile offshore from Kualoa, a massive tiger shark chomped onto the angler’s kayak, narrowly missing him. Thanks to an accident, it was all caught on camera.
Scott had turned on his GoPro after catching a fish. Although he had meant to turn it off, he accidentally left it on, and it’s a good thing he did. That GoPro caught the harrowing moments that happened next. It was only 42 seconds of footage, but that was enough to go viral, and it’s easy to see why. After all, it’s something you’d expect to see in a horror film.
As the video opens, all seems calm as the yellow kayak, which is filled with fishing gear, gently makes its way through the crystal blue waters on the windward side of Oahu, according to The Blaze. An unsuspecting Scott Haraguchi is heard fiddling with a crinkling wrapper as he fishes the waters while a quiet breeze blows.
Nothing seems out of the ordinary, and there’s no sign of imminent danger, but that all changes in an instant. As the video pans upward just slightly, a large brown shape materializes in the water in the upper left corner of the frame. Something appears to be barreling toward the front of the kayak.
Before viewers can make out what’s heading right for Scott Haraguchi, the beast reveals itself as it rams the side of his vessel. That’s about the time the startled fisherman starts screaming as the massive shark latches onto his watercraft, leaving teeth marks on it. “Tiger shark rammed me!” the angler is heard yelling.
Thankfully, Scott was able to disengage the apex predator by giving it a shove with his shoe, which connects with the shark near its vulnerable eye region at about the 11-second mark. While that would be too close for comfort for most of us, Scott Haraguchi reportedly went on fishing after the shark swam away.
Running on adrenaline at the time, Scott later admitted that he didn’t fully appreciate the magnitude of the encounter until he watched the video after returning home. “I heard a whooshing sound that sounded like a boat heading towards me without the motor and I looked up and I saw this big brown thing. My brain thought it was a turtle, but then I got slammed by it and realized that it was a tiger shark,” he recalled.
Although Scott’s not sure what prompted the attack, he said he noticed what appeared to be a wounded seal shortly after the incident, according to KITV. He said he believes the shark may have mistaken his kayak for its wounded prey, which the predator was coming back to finish off.
The video was shared on Hawaii Nearshore Fishing’s YouTube channel, where more details about the incident were given. “Dunno how I did that, but my foot actually pushes the shark off near its vulnerable eye. Thank you, Jesus!” reads a message that appears on the screen following the heart-pounding footage.
“Happened so fast. Didn’t realize I took my left foot out of the water to brace myself from impact and actually pushed the shark’s head off with it. If you asked me to do that again, even without the shark, I don’t think I’d have that flexibility,” another onscreen message to viewers read.
The following day, a 20-foot shark sighting prompted officials at Marine Corps Base Hawaii to close North Beach and post signs, but it was unclear whether it was the same shark. Either way, Scott Haraguchi admitted that he was concerned about the sightings, adding that he’ll always bring a partner when fishing.
In the meantime, Scott is counting his blessings, thankful that his encounter didn’t end much differently. Following the death-defying incident, the fisherman shared some wise words, saying, “I realize that life is short, time is short on Earth, so make the most of it.”
