PACIFIC CITY, Ore. — Imagine coming face to face with a great white shark that’s about 12 feet long and weighing over 2,000 pounds. That’s exactly what happened to a Vancouver man spearfishing off the Oregon Coast in Pacific City.
That shark was swimming about eight to ten feet away from Vlad Siryk, who was spearfishing with friends for lingcod.
Last holiday weekend, the conditions off the Oregon Coast were picture-perfect for spearfishing. They were so good that Siryk’s friends had one of their best days ever out on the coast.
“My friend comes up with a 42-pound lingcod, which is double of what any of us have gotten — it’s pending now, a new state record,” said Siryk.
While Siryk's friends made the catch of a lifetime, he wanted a catch for himself, too.
“I’m like, 'Dude, I don’t want to leave here until I get one myself,'” recalled Siryk.
So, minutes later, Siryk jumped in the water and free-dove, looking for his first catch of the day.
His, though, turned out to be the biggest one — at least caught on camera — when a 12-foot great white shark swam right by him. Siryk was about 30 to 40 feet below the surface when he came across it — and quickly got back on the boat afterwards.
"As soon as I make eye contact, he cuts sideways and I just see his giant body and the only thing I can think of all was 'That's the biggest body I have ever seen,'" he said. "I swam back to the boat and keeping my gun between me and wherever ... Yeah, it was crazy."
How common is it to come across a great white off the Oregon Coast? Oregon State University professor Taylor Chapple, who studies sharks and marine life, says if you’ve ever been swimming in the ocean or surfing, a shark has definitely spotted you.
“It’s more often than not a shark is going to see you than you are going to see the shark. I’m sure this fisherman has had a shark around them before,” said Chapple.
Chapple added that there's fifteen different species of sharks in Oregon. Earlier this summer, Oregon State University researchers were able to confirm two shark species previously undocumented in the Puget Sound: the broadnose sevengill shark and the critically endangered soupfin shark.