Probably was a salmon shark, probably was half that size - still way big. Either Bob or AK Kings had a story about salmon sharks in Alaska last year that he related to us. I've seen these puppies myself - twin to a GW, just more brownish tinge to them. They are much more common than GWs, and would be more likely cruising around looking for salmon and nailing a hotspot. <img border="0" alt="[eat]" title="" src="graemlins/eat.gif" />

It's true, I just got a picture of it. Army, Navy and the Marines were there. Will somebody post it from the bulleton board storage. I can't get it to work.

thanks,

fp

Is this the one fp??

Horrible band.

Salmon Shark is the closest relative to the great white but about half the size on average. I have seen an 11 footer in Bristol Bay before. Put both side by side and you'd have a tough time distinguishing between the two.

Click here for more info on the Salmon shark - Lamna ditropis

Hopefully it will come upstream because I have a pink worm with it's name on it.

Why would anybody doubt this guy? It is perfectly possible- that great white caught in Grays Harbor is hanging in the Seattle Aquarium. I always wondered how long it would take for nature to account for an over abundance of pinipeds in Puget Sound.
The idea of sharing the water with a giant predator is exciting. Lets make seal cut outs from astro turf and troll them around like they do on National Geographic. We will have to add a titanium leader and a big 'ol Mustad though!

Maybe it escaped from the Point defiance aquarium

How do you Cut Plug a Sea Lion?
What Size hooks should I use?

Cut Plug a Sea Lion?
LOL .... that is a good one

Yeah, how long a sea lion leader do you use behind a Hotspot Downriggin'

Over the years I've had calls about great whites about once every year or two. Usually they are caught by commercial fishermen off the coast. Can't recall any that came from inland waters. I've never seen a 20 footer though! Most are about 4-5 feet.

With all the boats being out this weekend at the derby maybe one of us will incounter this shark.

I have one question to ask to the other posts, how deep and how fast would you troll with a cut plug sea lion.

Fish On,

ErnDog

AK Kings

I can back your comment. I was in Sitka three years ago and our capt show me a picture of a great white caught on a commercial line. It was about 11 feet. Saw the beach it was brought up on.

The guy that had this encounter is Bob S. I have fished with him before when he was the curator for the Point Defiance Aquarium. He retired in the 80's after 25+ years there. Trust me he knows the difference between a Salmon Shark and a Great White.

one word: chainsaw!!!

Spawn,

For a 20 footer... 48".. Saw the Hotspot and talked with Bob.... one word- WOW!

For those still in doubt, he retired as a biologist after 36 years for the PD aquarium. He knows what he saw.... It is a little hard to absorb huh? I have seen similiar things off San Francisco salmon fishing... It is probably in feeding on seals.

Downriggin'

Still not gonna go with that 6 foot leader even for trash fish, huh DR?

I took a look at that flasher also - not only chewed on but a chunk taken out of it

Salmon sharks and great whites look an awful lot alike unless you get a good look at the tail, but Bob sounds like the one person in the area that would be most qualified to tell what it was. Still, it seems that a flasher would be more attractive to a salmon eater than a marine mammal eater, but something like this is so unheard of that who knows?

I bet most of us who have spent time fishing the saltchuck have a story about hooking something completely unstoppable - had it happen myself at PD back in the 60's while playing out a small fish I hooked while motor mooching. This was not a seal or sea lion either - those have to come up for air - this fish headed straight for the bottom, then went due north and never slowed down or turned even after chasing it for an hour up Colvos Passage halfway to Seattle. I always thought it was some kind of shark or maybe even a mondo halibut, but I wonder now if I hooked this baby's daddy

We were jigging for bottom fish off the coast up in Canada one time. We had a halibut rod and were jigging a 12oz leadhead jig with a 13 inch worm on it. Something came up and bit the worm in half leaving a good sized, triangular tooth mark in the rubber.