Fishing buddies capture humpback whale's amazing leap in Marlborough Sounds

A keen fisherman had a spectacular encounter with a pod of humpback whales in the Marlborough Sounds last week.

Dan Govier was on day one of a two-day fishing trip with a friend when they spotted the mammals in the water at Stephens Passage around 5:30pm last Thursday.

"It was pretty amazing, they were all around us," Govier said.

Despite it being low light, Govier managed to capture one of the humpbacks leaping out of the water on camera.

"I've never seen a whale jump out like that before."

The fishing buddies estimated there were around three to four humpbacks of varying sizes in the pod, but the low light made it hard to tell.

Govier reported the sighting to the Department of Conservation for tracking purposes.