8' Bull Shark in the Potomac River

[salvelinusfontinalis]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/09/04/8-foot-bull-shark-caught-in-potomac-in-st-marys-county-md/

While this happens there from time to time, I wonder if they ever enter the lower susquehanna. I have not seen any documented cases but you would think it could.

 

[Mike]

Nice

 

[Swattie87]

I'd say it's almost certain they're in the extreme lower Susky from time to time. Similar cases to the Potomac story are documented worldwide where they are present.

 

[Fishidiot]

Certainly the Susquehanna Flats, but I doubt an adult bull would go further up our rivers in summer due to riffle areas that would block them. The warm water season just sees too skinny water. However, deeper sections such as tidal Delaware, the lower Potomac around DC, or James River below Richmond have undoubtedly seen adult bull sharks. A smaller or juvenile fish might go up to Conowingo or up the Delaware I suppose.

When I was in Iraq, an old Iraqi caught one in his net in the Euphrates River near Baghdad, hundreds of miles from the sea.

 

[robkonowitch]

These are big man eaters. Wow...

 

[FarmerDave]

robkonowitch wrote:
These are big man eaters. Wow...

Naa, they mostly just eat little men. ;-)

There is no reason why Bill Sharks can't enter the Susq., but I doubt they would make it past the Connowingo dam. But I don't know anything about the dam.

Heck, even manatee have been spotted in that river. Which is a better swimmer?

There are bull shark occasionally in the Delaware river. One was caught in a net in 1908 basically across the river from where the Philly Airport is today. I have no idea how far they can go upstream, but I'd imagine quite a ways.

Bull shark travel way up the Mississippi. Here is an interesting read. I had read elsewhere of the one caught in Illinois, but not the evidence in Minnesota.

If we could only train them to just eat only those asian carp. ;-)

 

[foxtrapper1972]

I'll bet that was what grabbed my streamer at Shehawken the other day....

Maybe they will bring one up in the fish lift at Conowingo!

A good read and true story. Some think this was likely a Bull Shark that attacked people in freshwater rivers around turn of century.

http://www.amazon.com/Close-Shore-Terrifying-Shark-Attacks/dp/0767904141

More here-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore_shark_attacks_of_1916

 

[sandfly]

never has a bull gone up the chesey to the flats in history. furthest I ever caught and heard of sharks was just north of rock hall md. not enough deep water for them. they like deep water channels to run up. once you get above rock hall the cheesy gets shallower.

 

[Swattie87]

sandfly wrote:
never has a bull gone up the chesey to the flats in history.

I'll take that action Chaz. I mean Sandfly.

 

[sandfly]

The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) is a close cousin of the sandbar shark, but is more aggressive. The bull shark is an occasional summer visitor to the Chesapeake Bay, reaching as far north as the Patuxent River. It feeds on bony fishes, rays and other sharks (particularly juvenile sandbar sharks), in addition to crustaceans, turtles and mammals.

Overall, sharks aren’t a major safety concern in the Chesapeake Bay. The lower Bay’s role as a nursery area for sandbar sharks makes it the most abundant large shark population on the Atlantic coast. But populations of other shark species are limited in this area, so unprovoked attacks are incredibly rare.

taken from:
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/blog/post/are_there_sharks_in_the_chesapeake_bay
and 15 years on a boat in the upper chessy

 

[Swattie87]

I'll take the odds that there is a least one Bull Shark present in the upper Bay right now. Nonetheless at some point in history. Those things are like Brown Trout...they turn up everywhere. Maybe not in abundance enough to be noticed, but a few individuals are likely there.

 

[Fishidiot]

Swattie87 wrote:
I'll take the odds that there is a least one Bull Shark present in the upper Bay right now. Nonetheless at some point in history. Those things are like Brown Trout...they turn up everywhere. Maybe not in abundance enough to be noticed, but a few individuals are likely there.

Agree. Rare but there.

I've seen and caught small bulls in some shallow flats in FL. They do like channels, but can and do hang out in shallow areas.

 

[Swattie87]

That's pretty cool FI. Any pics of those little guys?

 

[Fishidiot]

No pics unfortunately, long line release.

Lemons, blacktips, bonnets, and nurse sharks are common sights on Keys flats - they're everywhere. I've seen bulls a few times in the backcountry - they were smaller fish. Last time I was down there I followed a huge lemon in my kayak that I estimated was about half the length of my 15' kayak. This was within site of the docks at Worldwide Sportsmen. Another time I had a young hammer about 6' swim within feet of me when I was wade fishing in knee deep water. Didn't worry me much as I'm fond of sharks, but if had been a bull I think I would have high tailed it outa there.

 

[Fishidiot]

Some good news on shark populations along the Atlantic coast.

Hopefully, they can soon be declared Class A.

Gonna Neeed a Bigger Boat

 

[pcray1231]

Been loosely following this pair of great whites who were tagged and wonder along the eastern seaboard. Katherine and Mary Lee. Tagged 14 and 16 foot great whites.

Katherine spends summers in Cape Cod and winters in the Gulf of Mexico, travelling the coast in between.

Mary Lee, the bigger one, is more a homebody and stays around the coasts of Georgia, SC, and NC, occasionally randomly wondering up to Virginia/Maryland/NJ beaches, even entering bays on multiple occasions.

Mary Lee is the unlabeled yellow one here. Lines are straight because they only "ping" when they surface, so in between surfacings there's no data and it just draws a straight line.