Angler Encounters Massive Great White Shark Off Anna Maria Island
A routine fishing trip off Anna Maria Island turned into an unforgettable experience for two anglers when they came face-to-face with one of the ocean’s most formidable predators—a great white shark.
Tim Lehman and his fishing companion, Jim Labovites, had ventured into the Gulf in search of snapper. Despite a slow start, they eventually found a promising spot in about 70 feet of water. Just as their luck began to turn, so did their attention—to a massive shape gliding just beneath the surface.
Lehman was mid-ship when he noticed the large creature about 20 feet off the bow, moving steadily through the water. Initially mistaking it for a whale shark, he quickly realized the true identity of their visitor—a great white shark, measuring an estimated 14 feet in length.
Circling their 28-foot boat at least four times, the shark displayed a familiarity with boats, as if assessing whether a meal might be nearby. Lehman quickly grabbed his phone and recorded the remarkable encounter, capturing the size and movements of the apex predator as it passed.
Great white sharks are not commonly spotted in the waters off Anna Maria Island, but recent years have seen an increase in documented sightings. In January, a tagged 10-foot great white shark named Crystal was detected off the Sarasota coast, and another, a 9-foot-7-inch male named Keji, was tracked near the continental shelf off Fort Myers. Keji’s migration patterns have shown extensive travel along the East Coast, even passing near Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island in previous years.
While encounters like this remain rare, they remind us of the diverse and powerful marine life inhabiting the Gulf. For Lehman and Labovites, the sighting added an unexpected thrill to their fishing trip—one that will be hard to top.
