[flatfish]

fished ocean side (sea bright) i caught a 2ft blueish gray shark. i caught a dogfish correct ? guy next to me said that i can just pick up fish and remove hook from his mouth! this shark has teeth and sharp spine ? can someone give me some more ifo on this type of shark and what to be careful of.

 

[granpafish]

If the fish had light colored spots down the lateral line and spines in front of both dorsals, it was a spiny dogfish. You don't want to let one of those spines get you, they hurt. Not like a stingray, but not good. Some people refer to them as horn sharks but that is actually a Pacific species. I guess that it is a good way to alert people that there is something to be aware of. At any rate, the dogfish, (commonly called a sandshark) is essentially harmless. The one you caught deserves a little more attention. Granpa

 

[flatfish]

if ther a specific way to handle this fish, i use circle hooks so the release should be easy.

 

[Duke of Fluke]

Sure sounds like a spiney dog to me. It is somewhat unusual to catch them this time of year though. They prefer colder water. Usually you catch smooth dogs this time of year which lack the spikes and have no teeth.

 

[davehunt]

Check out this link,

http://nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/species.html

It has illustrations and text on some of the fish found in the the Northeast, including the spiny dogfish. should help you ID it.