Angler’s tale of catching bull shark is just bull and no shark, Missouri officials say

A tall-tale led to the Missouri Department of Conservation calling out an angler who claimed he caught a bull shark along the Mississippi River, but the department says it’s not likely.

“BULL SHARK? BALONEY! Yes, bull sharks can live in freshwater and have swum up the Mississippi River in the past, but this is a fake news story posted on a prank website,” the department said on Facebook.

The story starts off like a movie with limited action and then reaches an immediate climax, which may give the reader a reason to be skeptical.

It turns out the site the story was posted to is fake. “The image and accompanying story claims two Jefferson City anglers caught the bull shark on the Osage River after a three-hour fight on Oct. 13,” The Springfield News Leader said.

The man featured in the fake story was Martin Brody, a character in the movie “Jaws.” In the fake news story, Brody and his son Sean were in Jefferson City enjoying the “warm weather” when a “good size tug” bit their pole. Then the “action” began.

The Department of Conservation said that “while it’s true there are sharks in Missouri — most of them are at the Wonders of Wildlife aquarium in Springfield - there are no bull sharks in Missouri” according to the News Leader.

Once the department addressed the fake news story on its Facebook page, people chimed in with various outlandish takes.

“I can believe it, I just saw a Bengal Tiger in my back yard,” Joseph Vincent said.

“Naw its real. I saws it ons Facebooks,” Johnny Ruedrich said.

“According to National Geographic, bull sharks that live in the Gulf of Mexico are one of the few shark species that can tolerate fresh water. Bull sharks have been recorded swimming up the Mississippi River as far north as Illinois,”The Springfield News Leader reported.

This story was originally published October 25, 2019 at 4:47 PM.