Also known as
- Tope US
- Tope Shark US
- Soupfin Shark US
- Snapper Shark US
- Vitamin Shark US
- Oil Shark US
- Flake US
- Sweet William US
- Greyboy US
Identification
A slender, torpedo-built schooling shark of temperate coastal and offshore water — narrow profile delivers tireless cruising speed and quick acceleration over long migrations. Females out-size males slightly.
- Dark blue-grey to bronze-grey back grading to a pale belly
- Long pointed snout with prominent oval eyes
- Distinctively long upper tail lobe giving a near double-tailed silhouette
- Second dorsal fin nearly the same size as the anal fin and sitting directly above it
Where it holds
- Inshore
- Offshore
- Sandy Shores
- Rocky Shores
Behaviour
A highly migratory schooling shark of temperate coastal and offshore water worldwide — schools are often segregated by sex and size and cover up to 56km a day across long latitudinal migrations tracking 7-23°C (45-73°F) water. Works the full water column from surface to over 470m, ascending toward the surface at night and dropping to deeper levels by day on prey movements. Opportunistic predator on baitfish in mid-water and crustaceans, cephalopods, and small flatfish across the bottom.
Diet: Sardines, Anchovies, Herring, Mackerel, Crabs, Squid, Octopus
How it's caught
Line Fishing
Bottom Fishing
The classic UK, Irish, and South African drift-and-chum fishery — drift over banks and channel mouths presenting a whole mackerel, herring, sardine, or whole squid on a 1m single-strand wire trace and 7/0-8/0 non-offset circle hook. Multiplier reel in free-spool with the ratchet alarm engaged so fish can take line on the run.
Chunking
Chum-and-drift — deploy a porous bag of chopped oily fish, blood, and guts to lay a continuous scent slick downtide. Pin a fresh fish chunk or half-sardine on a 7/0-8/0 non-offset circle hook and free-line back into the trail. Wire trace mandatory. Hugely productive paired with bottom_fishing on the same drift.
Live Lining
A productive UK, Irish, and South African summer-bank technique — float-suspend or free-line a live mackerel, herring, or small pollack on a 1m single-strand wire trace and 7/0-8/0 non-offset circle hook. Pair with a bloody chum slick to focus the strike zone and reduce search time.
Surf Casting
A summer night fishery from steep storm beaches and shingle banks where fish push into the surf line after dark — cast a fresh whole mackerel, half-sardine, or whole squid on a 1m wire trace and 7/0-8/0 non-offset circle hook behind a 6oz pyramid lead. 10-12ft surf rod and a multiplier reel; fish from dusk through the small hours.
Trolling
A search method on long open ground when bait is showing — slow-troll a whole rigged mackerel or a skirted swimming plug at 3-5 knots on a 1m single-strand wire trace. Useful for locating active fish before settling into a drift; rarely the primary technique for this species.
