Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Sharks in these waters

We've had some lively discussions in the past about how certain fish get in our ponds...check out this article on a shark in a freshwater lake in Texas:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/outdoors/stories/MYSA082405.6C.OUTmedinalake.shark.12fa0b70.html

This is something I've been wondering about. As the article says, bull sharks commonly enter and live in freshwater. They've been reported north as far as Illinois.

Has anyone seen any current reports of bull sharks in freshwater?

That's an interesting article.

I wonder if that was released from someone's fish tank. That still doesn't answer how it survived in fresh water.

I guess we know that every living creature probably continues to evolve.

Would a salt water fish be any more likely to survive all those omosis problems if the salinity of it's water was gradually reduced from salt to fresh?

Lake Medina isn't very far from San Antonio so this has received a lot of coverage locally. Texas Parks and Wildlife believe that this was prank that someone pulled on the fishermen. There is no way the sharks can get to this lake so the best reason is that someone had caught the sharks at the gulf and then brought them back and went out and put them on the jug lines.

It would still suprise me to pull up my jug and see a shark.

Theo, a long, long time ago, a professor of mine studied bull sharks at lake Managua, Nicaragua. These sharks swim up about 100 miles of the Rio San Juan and live in this freshwater lake for months and even years some times. I don't know what the current conclusions are. World wide, bull sharks attack people more often than any other species because of their ability to live in freshwater where they come into contact with people more often.

Theo, don't let Bruce read that. He already has high salinity in his water and large bluegill. I am afraid he will try to create a bluegill/shark cross.

ROTF

OK, I'll push the salinity levels...I asked this before on the board without a reply. If the Bass Pro Shop guys can maintain an aquarium with a huge "Texas Lunker" 16 lb Bass side beside Redfish, why can't pondowners do the same ? Geez, Redfish would be awesome fighters, and even better "blackened" in the skillet. What's the scientific mix ?

There are many types of freshwater sharks and rays. I was shocked when I caught a freshwater flounder in the Tangipahoa river. There are some fair sized sharks in the Amazon. They all have 1 thing in common: They swim in water that communicates with the oceans. Maybe an Atlantic sharpnose can swim up river, but it can't swim over dirt!