Bart's Fish

Flounder. Don't be fooled by the Little Mermaid flounder.

It's no flounder, my guess is some kind of burrfish or puffer. It does look like something out of the Simpsons, though.

It's no flounder, my guess is some kind of burrfish or puffer. It does look like something out of the Simpsons, though.

Upon closer inspection, I think your right about it not being flounder. I am investigating this as I am filled with curiosity now.:idontno: I love your tar.:lolabove:

Pretty cool. That's a southern stargazer. The northern Gulf of Mexico is part of its natural range, but it's a fairly rare catch. If anything, it's kinda neat -- in a horrible sci-fi monster type-of-way. Also, believe it or not, this fish has the ability to produce an electrical shock, so I hope Bart didn't try to pick it up.

Here's a link to more info about this curious-looking fish.

This all being said, if Bart turned the fish over and saw it had a third eye, the Springfield Power Plant should be promptly contacted.

What a bizarre fish!:clap_1:

Thank you for the info LM. I was dying to know what that thing was. Mystery solved.:clap_1:

Thanks Little Man. Be scratchin my head of this one. Also have caught what I believe to be snakeheads off the beach. Another scary looking fish.😱

There are all sorts of weird things out there swimming amongst our toes. On a recent trip to SoWal (I posted about it a while back), I landed a "grand slam" of motley species on a fly-rod, including a leatherjack, a needlefish and a lizardfish.

Leatherjacks are in the jack family, naturally, but these little guys have two small spines near the anal fin that are poison-filled needles. I learned about these fish while fishing on the Fort Walton pier years ago -- a fellow tourist standing next to me caught one, grabbed the fish to de-hook it, then yelped in pain. A few minutes later, his hand looked like an angry version of the Hamburger Helper mascot. A very caring local stood nearby and observed the whole deal, but only half-heartedly muttered, "You grab 'em wrong and they'll puff you up a bit." Lesson learned.

Needlefish seem to be everywhere. You've probably encountered them on most trips. During the early fall, a quickly retrieved spoon or glass-minnow fly will solicit mulitiple follows by these snake-like fish. Typically, inshore, they're not very big -- and more of a pest than anything. They look like little, skinny, blue/green versions of freshwater gar and love to roam the "still" water of a slack tide. Lots of little sharp teeth fill their long narrow snouts, so you have to be careful in handling them. They're not much sport, but apparently make decent bait. Their cousins, the Houndfish, can get quite large, however. I've only seen pictures (mostly from southern Florida) of these guys.

While there could be a snakehead or two out there somewhere (they seem to be cropping up everywhere these days), I believe most -- if not all -- of the true snakeheads are freshwater fish. You may have hooked a lizardfish, which is one of the more heinous critters roaming the beaches. This link will introduce you to this vile denizen of the ... well, shallows. Underwater, they're pretty colorful (but still heinous). Out of water, they lose a lot of their iridescence ... but retain their heinousity (may have just invented a word there).

That could have been what you've been catching, but really, there's no telling. Snakehead sounds cooler anyway, so I'd probably go with that.

Hope this helps.

thanks LM i love this stuff...:clap_1:

Can anyone idenyify this fish? Caught off the beach near Snapperheads. I got no idea :idontno: other than it's a cousin to the 3 eye fish on the Simpson's. Is Homer's Nuke Plant close by?

Well, my guess would have been the Sir Winston Churchill Bayou Boogie-Boo....or the Charles Laughton Liverpool UMF...or...Grouper Bait...

:confused:

but..not a Flounder...maybe "Catch of The Day" on the Menu...at SnapperHeads...looks like there are Poulan wounds...hmmmm
(Hold Harmless agreement pending)

Little Man, your correct it was lizardfish I've been catching. Just as ugly. Glad they don't get too big or I'd never go in the water. I'd rather unhook a shark.

So how did that stargazer taste anyway:idontno: :lol:

Another thing about the star gazer: if you do go flounder gigging at night be very careful of these fish for they bury up in the sand and all you can see is there eyes aswell. But when you stick the gig in em you could get a good jolt(especially if your using a metal gig and not the bamboo one) instead of dinner.

I just caught one in the cast net the other day while catching shrimp for dinner at indian pass.