Fish ID thoughts (no Photos)

[june181901]

Neighbor was out by the bug light yesterday and saw 3 to 4 foot long fish coming clear out of the water and into a bunker school. Tan top, white bottom was his description which if he was in southern waters would make me think cobia.
Would appreciate any thoughts as I'm unfamiliar with cobia in Sandy Hook Bay.

[AndyS]

Cobia, sandbar shark, sturgeon.

[tjd24]

Sturgeon would be my guess.
I've seen many jumping out of the water in Raritan Bay.

[Duffman]

Tan top and busting thru bunker it’s a Cobia.

[nsc_tpt]

Mostly it is Sturgeon...

[bulletbob]

Tan top, white underbelly, does sound like the colors we might see with a jumping sturgeon, and we have all seen them... They are endangered/threatened in the NY Bight according to the ""experts"", but you'd never know it, especially when 4 or 7 of them almost decapitated you on any given day fluking in the bay.. However, they vacuum worms, clam spat, and fish eggs off the substrate, and do NOT slam into bunker schools.. It is possible a jumping sturgeon just happened to jump near a school of bunker.. I am far from an expert, but I always thought most of the few Cobia caught this far north were fairly well offshore, not really in bays or inshore .... bob

[AndrewT]

I’d put my money on a shark. Sandbar or something similar

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by AndrewT

I’d put my money on a shark. Sandbar or something similar

That makes the most sense.. This is from wiki-

Its body color can vary from a blue-ish brown, grey or bronze, with a white or pale underside.

I looked at a bunch of pictures of sandbars[brown shark], and many of them appeared to have a tan to brownish topside, and light under, which would match the description given.

[Capt. Debbie]

Acted like sturgeon. Did it have large roundish scales ?

Ive seen several times over the years between the SP buoy and SH Bug lights. They will jump and make a really large splash too.

[Jigman13]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

Tan top, white underbelly, does sound like the colors we might see with a jumping sturgeon, and we have all seen them... They are endangered/threatened in the NY Bight according to the ""experts"", but you'd never know it, especially when 4 or 7 of them almost decapitated you on any given day fluking in the bay.. However, they vacuum worms, clam spat, and fish eggs off the substrate, and do NOT slam into bunker schools.. It is possible a jumping sturgeon just happened to jump near a school of bunker.. I am far from an expert, but I always thought most of the few Cobia caught this far north were fairly well offshore, not really in bays or inshore .... bob

The cobia follow the bunker schools. And schools of squid. They also feed heavily on sea robins.