ID this shark

[scbaseth]

Let me preface this by saying I swear that this is not a fish story...
So my friends claimed to have seen a pair of sharks feeding on or in blitzing stripers last week at the mouth of the Ipswich river 200 yards from shore. I said they were full of it and told them it was probably just as couple seals, but low and behold, yesterday we went to the same area and saw something smash up on top so we drove up close, drifted around with a Mackeral, and watched 2 sharks, 5 and 6 feet long with a generous girth, swim right past the bait under the boat in 12 feet of water. Someone said thresher, but I saw the tail and it looked more like a tiger shark than anything. It is about 1/4 mile away from one of my favorite beaches and another quarter mile from where I do a lot of scuba diving!

[clt_capt]

without striped bands, I'd guess bull shark

[scbaseth]

I was close enough to it to see that it definitely wasn't a blue dog, porbeagle, or small basking shark, and they were both around 150 pounds. I've caught and seen a lot of sharks up around the Gulf of Maine, but never seen something like that so close to shore this far north.

[scbaseth]

A buddy of mine suggested bull shark, but would they be this far north this time of year? I didn't notice bands, but my friend said he thought it looked like it had bands. He is convinced it was a sand tiger shark.

[hotreels]

Brown shark

[Tight]

Brown or Porbeagle

[sushi42]

It is about 1/4 mile away from one of my favorite beaches and another quarter mile from where I do a lot of scuba diving!

I wouldn't worry too much about them sharks, they usually welcome company anyway, I say dive with em and go for a ride on one,.........if you dare!

[rmoody79]

its none of the above, its a sand tiger shark, also known as a mackerel shark, they are very common this time of year since the mackerel are in abundance, they are also a protected species. they can grow somewhat large and are very toothy mean looking animals, but thats what they are. I have hooked a couple in scituate, and I know that Duxbury Bay has 43 tagged fish that NOAA is studying.

[scbaseth]

Thanks for the answers guys. I'm sure we'll get some weird looks out there, but I've got 8 gallons of mackeral chum to dump in on thursday or friday to try and catch one of those things. It'll be good prep for tuna fishing! If we do get one I'll snap some pics before we release it.

[Fortunamate]

its none of the above, its a sand tiger shark, also known as a mackerel shark, they are very common this time of year since the mackerel are in abundance, they are also a protected species. they can grow somewhat large and are very toothy mean looking animals, but thats what they are. I have hooked a couple in scituate, and I know that Duxbury Bay has 43 tagged fish that NOAA is studying.

had a guy come into the bait store with one the other day and my geus was sand tiger