bullsharks

[aladatrot]

I'm in the house on a break from cleaning the stall of a very nasty wet gelding. It is hot, I can't get the big airmoving fan to work, and I'm likely delirious.

Has anyone here ever caught or seen an adult bull shark in a freshwater river? How about any sharks in the san jacinto river?

I don't know why I have a fascination with river predators as of late.

Cheers
M

[jesse]

some guys i know caught a 4ft in the sabain will get pixs later

[aladatrot]

Is the sabine a river or a lake? I have heard reference to both.

Cheers
M

[jesse]

river it runs behind my house

[grunterhunter8]

Some guys caught one in the trinity not too long ago...

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146265&highlight=shark

[sfboarbuster]

Well, i'm in florida. But I know a guy who caught one in lake okeechobee (which is in the center of the state)

[Crib]

Arent they known for attacking people unprovoked?

[sfboarbuster]

Arent they known for attacking people unprovoked?

Yeah, there pretty rank

[USHOG]

I love to catch sharks. Bull sharks can go any where in fresh water that they can swim to. They actually breed in fresh water or at least brackish. I remember as a kid that this guy had caught a huge female 6 or 7 feet long in Richmond under the bridge. That is at least 30 miles from the gulf. I was fascinated and have enjoyed hunting for sharks most of my life.  Yes they are man eaters. If you want to go sometime let me know. I hunt them around Matagorda in the Colorado river.

[aladatrot]

According to some scientists, bull sharks have more testosterone than any other animal on earth. Not sure if that is why they are so prone to unprovoked attack. They also are unique in the shark world in that they can recycle salt stores in their bodies. This allows them to survive up river. I did some reading.

Anyway, we go 4 wheeling at hwy 90 and I was wondering if there could be sharks in the water there under the san jacinto bridge.

Cheers
M

[chopper]

ive heard of bullsharks caught in lake Okeechobee like sfboarbuster said, that is like 60 miles inland from the atlantic or golf so they must like the freshwater too ,like a big mean mullet, i would like to see them run into one of them big ol gators in the canal.

[JLH]

last year one was caught at Livingston Dam and this weekend they are having a shark turrney at Fort Anuanhauc Park this weekend or might of been last

[Noah]

I got LOTS of bullshark stories...

I HATE THEM... Any get within range of my powerhead and they're gone.

Ever since they banned the longline/finning on sharks the population has exploded on the west coast of Florida...

Bullsharks are extremely unpredictable, they're the "pitbull" of the sea... Have you ever been around one of those old yard pits.... gentle as can be... wagging his tail... but he just keeps leanin' on you... and when you go to push him off... you hear his mouth open to take a grab(tail still wagging   )  

That's a bull, that's just what they do.

2 yrs ago, was freedive spearfishing with a group of guys off of Steinhatchee in about 50' of water.  Vis was a solid 10-15', not good for spotting sharks.... and I knew better.   But, we dropped anyways.... Made several drops, not seeing much worth shooting...

On my last drop, got to the bottom, belly to sand and eased along looking under structure for a grouper... no luck.   As I turned for the surface I could see the 7-8' bul angling down towards me.... not directly "at" me, but he was defenitely coming to check me out....

I didn't have a powerhead with me or this would have been the end of the story... all I could do was keep the tip of my gun pointed beneath his chin, until he passed by, then under me and out of site...

"No big deal" I told myself... I've seen these guys do this many, many times before... they just like to check out anything "new" in their territory that might be an easy meal... He saw I wasn't, so it should've ended there....

Well, it didn't.

As I hit the surface, I noticed the other 5 guys were all in the boat.... and I was still a few hundred feet off... AND THEN I LOOKED BACK DOWN...

Now, TWO good sized bulls were actually "circling" beneath me(never saw this before... )

Kept my gun pointed down and eased towards the back of the boat, bulls in tow.. and getting "twitchier" the whole time...  NOT GOOD.

Got to the back of the boat and tried to relax, they were now fully lit up and making little "bluff" charges.... I was not about to turn my back...

Instantly, I saw a opening and lunged towards the dive platform... even quicker I saw one of the bulls charge in for a bite....

I let go of the guys that were trying to pull me in at this point, to try and protect my legs that were miliseconds from getting mauled... the but of my gun made impact on his nose JUST before he got to me... the shark spun and went back into circling mode...

NOW.  To say my heart was racing at this point would be an understatement....  I knew they were gonna make another run, and I wasn't gonna wait on them so I turned and scrambled like a scared little girl.... no more than I got my butt on the platform, here the other one came...

Luckily, this time the guys had a grip on me and got me pulled out just in time.

Turns out, one of the guys had shot a short AJ and tossed it back in(which turned the bulls on).... this spot is also a VERY popular recreational fishing reef, and sharks become "trained" to greet tired fish at the back of the boat...

In this murky water, these bulls just saw me as a big, fat, amberjack... prime for the pickin', at the back of the boat  

I HATE THEM!

[aladatrot]

Cool story in hindsight. It would have sucked if you had lost an appendage though . I would have been out of the water with the first shark. Heck, when I get on the backside of the neighbors pond, I kick and paddle faster until I get past the pier. No sharks there, its the perch and catfish that get me boogered!

Cheers
M

[Cull Buck]

Had a big bull shark eat 7 trout off my stringer in one bite in port o'connor a couple summers ago.  When his head came up about 6' off my hip thrashing around I about crapped my pants. 

I'm intrigued by their abilities to tolerate fresh water.  I think the facination began when I read a story about one being caught in the mississippi river.........in MO!    

[Crib]

To the guy Jesse who has em behind his house...

Have you ever had a problem with them on a hunt while tryin to get to your dogs? How you you handle it if you did?

[aladatrot]

Oohh, good question. You have water thrashing and possibly blood in the water...

Cheers
M

[S_J_KENNELS]

Check out this website. They do nothing but shark fish from the beach, and a lot of them fish the Brazoria to High Island areas. I fish just for sharks when I go, or rather that is my target species if a red, trout, or flounder decide to bite I will take them as well LOL.

www.tx-sharkfishing.com