Shark attack???
Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2020 9:43 pm
I caught a 14-inch smallmouth tonight on the Burlington shoreline with a 2-inch chunk taken out of its back right in front of the dorsal fin.
I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture, but the wound was clean and round so it wasn't a boat strike or an osprey attack, and it wasn't entirely healed so it's not an old wound from when the fish was little.
If I had caught this fish in a tidal river I would assume the fish had a run in with a small shark, but are there any fish in Champlain that can literally take a bite out of a 1-pound-plus bass? A bowfin maybe?
The only other thing I can think of that might cause a wound like that is an otter or mink.
Overall, the fishing was pretty good, with around 10 bass total including three in neighborhood of 3 pounds. I hooked one that I think would have gone close to 4 but he dragged me across some rocks and cut the line.
I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture, but the wound was clean and round so it wasn't a boat strike or an osprey attack, and it wasn't entirely healed so it's not an old wound from when the fish was little.
If I had caught this fish in a tidal river I would assume the fish had a run in with a small shark, but are there any fish in Champlain that can literally take a bite out of a 1-pound-plus bass? A bowfin maybe?
The only other thing I can think of that might cause a wound like that is an otter or mink.
Overall, the fishing was pretty good, with around 10 bass total including three in neighborhood of 3 pounds. I hooked one that I think would have gone close to 4 but he dragged me across some rocks and cut the line.