‘I just couldn’t believe it.’ Angler encounters great white shark near Anna Maria Island

In March 2024, a deceased sperm whale washed up on a Venice beach.

It was taken back offshore, where it began to decompose and turned into a buffet for sharks of all sizes. It was also a destination for those boaters who wanted to see the food chain in action where apex predators gorged.

Those who visited will never forget it. Tigers and great whites were spotted dining on the whale for multiple weeks. It was nature being raw and an amazing display of the sharks’ ability to key in on the free meal from who knows how far away.

Divers, like Tim Lehman, have become more aware of sharks’ presence in recent years with frequent run-ins.

“I won’t dive alone,” Lehman said. “These sharks ... come to any sound related to fishing or spearfishing. That brings them in. Even a boat slowing down is a dinner bell to sharks.”

After getting his boat up and running following damage from the hurricanes, Lehman has finally been offshore. On a trip into the cold Gulf, Lehman and friend Jim Labovites ran off Anna Maria Island searching for snapper in about 70 feet of water.

“We started out on a spot that was supposed to hold mangroves (snapper) with nothing happening. We went to a nearby spot that has produced so much over the decades. It turned on a little bit, but mostly 8- to 10-inch mangroves,” Lehman said. “We bounced around a little and finally started getting some OK-sized mangroves. I thought it might be turning on, so we went back to the first spot and put the trolling motor back down to anchor.”

When they went back to fishing, it didn’t take long before Lehman’s attention turned to a large visitor.

“I went toward the front to do something and was mid-ship when I look and see an extremely large animal in the water 20 feet off the bow at 10 o’clock moving to 4 o’clock,” Lehman recalled.

“At first, I thought it was a whale shark because I’ve seen five or six over the years. But as soon as I focused in, I said ‘Holy s***, dude, there’s a great white!’ My friend was thinking I was screwing with him. I grabbed my phone and darted up to the bow.”

Recording what he was seeing, Lehman’s video confirmed his suspicion of a large great white shark. It circled the boat at least four times, giving the pair of anglers a close-up look at the massive creature.

“Our boat was 28 feet long and it was at least the length of half of it, so 14 feet or more. On the fourth circle, she turned to her port and into the current, heading north. No doubt that shark is familiar with boats the way it acted, circling to see if there was an opportunity to find if it would be fed purposely or by eating a fish being brought up.”

Looking for a tag, neither Lehman nor Labovites saw one on the shark. In January, a 10-foot tagged great white shark named Crystal pinged off the Sarasota coast after pinging off Pensacola in December.

Another white shark, a 9-foot 7-inch male named Keji, pinged near the continental shelf off Ft. Myers in January, as well. In June, it had pinged off the North Carolina coast and in July off Nova Scotia in the North Atlantic. A significant traveler, in 2023, Keji ran a line close to Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island in February.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Lehman. “I’ve seen other articles and reports of great whites off our area. It was a big a** animal.”

This story was originally published February 16, 2025 at 5:50 AM.