'Look at the Size of That Tail!': North Carolina Fishermen Awed by Close Encounter With Whale

A group of North Carolina fishermen were overjoyed when they encountered a large whale off the coast of Wrightsville Beach on Tuesday, January 24.

Footage recorded by Matthew Colonna shows the whale swimming very close to him and his friends, Andy Connette and James Hargrove, who had gone fishing for the day.

The men can be heard excitedly remarking on the whale’s size, with one exclaiming: “Look at the size of that tail!” as the animal swims near the vessel.

Colonna told Storyful: "At first the whale was gone but out of the blue he resurfaced right by the boat! The whale was friendly and definitely just wanted to check us out.

“We sat there for around 30 minutes as the humpback whale swam around the boat and hung-out. The whale smelled terrible but what an absolutely magnificent animal,” Colonna said.

The animal was identified in local media as a humpback whale.

Local media reported a separate sighting of a humpback whale further up the coast in North Carolina earlier in January. Credit: Matthew Colonna via Storyful

Video Transcript

MAN 1: Whoa. He's so close.

MAN 2: I feel like we should give him that pokey.

MAN 1: Do it.

MAN 2: He's going to come back up again.

MAN 1: Look, he's still right-- you can still--

MAN 2: Oh my God. That is a big [MUTED] whale.

MAN 3: Holy cow. He's checking us out.

MAN 2: That is amazing. Where's his buddy at?

MAN 1: Look, he's coming to us. Whoa.

MAN 3: Did you get that? There he goes.

MAN 1: Whoa.

MAN 2: That is crazy.

MAN 3: My gosh.

MAN 1: Oh my gosh! Holy smokes.

MAN 3: He's going under the boat. Let's get a picture [INAUDIBLE].

MAN 1: Come here. Whoa.

MAN 2: Holy cow.

MAN 1: Whoa.

MAN 3: Look at the size of that tail.

MAN 2: I think we should throw him the bug.

Incredible. Just freaking--