Bull on the boat in matagorda bay

How goes it people finally was able to get a boat trip together me and two friends went out to matagorda and the bullsharks where there to say the least hooked into 3 total and finally got this guy on the boat

Looks like a black tip, Very close to bull shark. I caught my first shark (black tip) a couple years back. I thought it would fight more. But it was still cool to catch him. Looks like you had a great time bringing them in.

Believe it or not I've been having an ongoing debate with about 10 to 15 other anglers about the id on this shark I thought blacktip myself cause of the black coloration lining the tail aswell as the anal fin. but because there was no black tips on the dorsel aswell as the pectoral fins and it having a blunt wide nose other anglers said bullshark and what makes it frustrating is that this is my first shark and I can't get a positive I'd on him😅😅

here's a video my buddy took of the catch to get a better look at it

Having shark ID issues? You are not alone lol. There are over 40 species of sharks in the gulf and some can be pretty difficult to identify, especially when they are small. In my book, The Art of Fishing for Records, I wrote, “For sharks and other hard to identify species pictures should be taken of the head, tail, belly, dorsal fin, mouth, teeth, and anal fin.” Shark identification is done mainly with the interdorsal ridge, dorsal fin position in relation to the pectoral fin, preoral length in relation to internarial width, teeth shape, 2nd dorsal fin in relation to the anal fin, and coloration.

So, from the information you provided, the shark appears to be a bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas). I am basing this on the snout length, upper teeth shape, and dorsal position. Similar sharks are the blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) and the spinner shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna). Both have longer snouts than the bull shark. The blacktip shark can be distinguished from the spinner shark by the color of the anal fin. The spinner shark has a black tipped anal fin while the blacktip shark has a white anal fin.

Misunderstanding shark identification has resulted in lots of violations so be careful if you keep sharks. Many are protected.

I hope this helps. Oh and congratulations on the great catch.

That's is without a doubt the most helpful info I gotten thus far thank you...AND I DUB THEE...BULLSHARK😄😄

Nice fish. Also great information Barry!

Thanks for the compliment. I am glad I could help. Keep the pictures coming.

Is this guy Klayton?

No problem heading to Trinity River this morning to get into some hefty garfish .

Nice shark!!

Caught some bigguns out of Madagorda