Angler thinks he spots sea turtle — then has ‘once in a lifetime’ glimpse of creature
Brandon Overton and Nate Ressling know what to expect from a fishing trip.
The Texas anglers work in the charter industry, and they can often be found on the water, according to their social media accounts.
On a recent trip, Overton was napping while Ressling captained the boat, the pair told KHOU. That’s when Ressling spotted something in the water.
“My first thought was a log and then a sea turtle because it kind of had a little fin,” Ressling told the news outlet. “It looked like the head of a giant sea turtle.”
As the boat got closer to the creature, though, Ressling realized he was actually looking at a whale.
“I dropped the throttle, and was like, ‘God, there’s a freaking whale right there,’” Ressling said in the interview.
He immediately woke Overton up, according to Chron.
“I definitely thought I misheard him,” Overton told the outlet. “However, sure enough there was one about 100 yards from our starboard bow.”
Ressling and Overton grabbed their cameras and started capturing photos and videos to document their “once in a lifetime” sighting of the whale, Overton said in a July 24 Facebook post.
“He was sighted while trolling for billfish,” Overton wrote in his post. “Didn’t hang around long, a few pics and videos and he was gone, headed south.”
Overton shared photos and videos showing the creature diving in and out of the water.
Rice’s whales are a type of baleen whale and are considered one of the most endangered whales in the world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Experts estimate there are fewer than 100 individuals left.
The whales live in the Gulf of Mexico and can grow up to 60,000 pounds and 41 feet long, the administration said.
Galveston is about 50 miles southeast of Houston.
This story was originally published July 28, 2023 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Angler thinks he spots sea turtle — then has ‘once in a lifetime’ glimpse of creature."
