Bull Sharks

[gofish]

LOL......I was arguing with a buddy of mine about the range of bull sharks and wether there were any in the Mississippi River. This led to a great deal of bullsharking at the Memphis gathering last weekend. It appears that bullshark is prevalent in many more areas than I had realized. While I'm not new at bullsharking, I only catch catfish and the occasional goo. I'll continue to bullshark as long as I'm able and maybe one day I'll be considered an expert. :p

A 100 pound catfish would be fun but bullsharkin is my passion. :D

Some bull shark information:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/species/Bullshark.shtml
http://www.sharks.com/types-of-sharks/bull-shark.htm
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sharks/FS_bullshark.htm
http://www.conservationinstitute.org/bullshark.htm

Anyone care to share some bullshark stories? :cool:

[Gator]

Joe next time you miss that hard run maybe you will think twice about what it was huh??????????? LOL

[gofish]

Yeah Jim, if I pull my line up and it's all mangled, I might just have to call bullshark! :p

At least I'll have the right rod to handle it if I ever latch into a bull shark! :thumbsup:

[jtrew]

"Sharks must retain salt inside their bodies. Without it, their cells will rupture and cause bloating and death. Given this requirement, most sharks cannot enter fresh water, because their internal salt levels would become diluted. But bull sharks have special physiological adaptations that enable them to live in fresh water. Their kidneys recycle the salt within their bodies and special glands, located near their tails, also aid in salt retention."

[flatheaddundee]

OMG!! :eek: how far do these bullsharks travel into the river?!

[daveinstlmo]

I live up in St. Louis and we have had bull sharks that have made it all the way up to here, but I have never caught one. I have caught mullets in a tributary of the Mississippi (Meramec River) that have made it all the way from the Gulf to here. I guess it is a summer thing because the water is probably way too cold in the winter.

[jdward]

Intresting topic... I've heard that bull sharks could live as several months in freshwater. I also saw a show on the discovery channel that bull sharks were probably responsible for more shark attacks on humans (non fatal) than any other shark. It makes you think about what may be swimmin in the mighty mississippi everytime you are out there. Don't let my wife catch wind of this though, I'll never get her to go out there with me again:wink:. By the way, has anybody ever seen any pictures of bull sharks that came out of the river?

[daveinstlmo]

I've seen video of any in the Mississippi here in STL, but here are some interesting links:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sharks/FS_bullshark.htm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/1225741/posts
http://www.time.com/time/2001/sharks/cover2.html
http://www.seagrantfish.lsu.edu/resources/factsheets/bullshark.htm

[daveinstlmo]

Coincidentally, I was watching the History Channel last night and the had a show called MonsterQuestand and the episode was called "Jaws in Illinois". It was a full hour about Bull Sharks in fresh water and they had pictures, but no video, of a 6 foot Bull Shark that was caught in Alton, Illinois which is about 20 miles north of St. Louis and 600 miles from the Gulf. I think they said that Bulls have been found a couple of thousand miles up the Amazon. Given that, they could be in awful lot of water in the U.S.. Woo hoo, get out your heavy rod and reels!

[catdaddy64]

Coincidentally, I was watching the History Channel last night and the had a show called MonsterQuestand and the episode was called "Jaws in Illinois". It was a full hour about Bull Sharks in fresh water and they had pictures, but no video, of a 6 foot Bull Shark that was caught in Alton, Illinois which is about 20 miles north of St. Louis and 600 miles from the Gulf. I think they said that Bulls have been found a couple of thousand miles up the Amazon. Given that, they could be in awful lot of water in the U.S.. Woo hoo, get out your heavy rod and reels!

I am not saying its a fact but there have been reports of sharks in the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge in the past when the water gets really low in the summer.

It sure would make for some interesting like Joe says Bullsharkin if I was to ever tie into a big one.

I've caught small sharks in the surf on the coast and them lil son of a guns fight like the dickens...