Gone Fishing - And All I Caught Was This Wierd Ass Critter

Waterborn

Shared on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 11:43

Got up at 5 am to go fishing this morning. I went out to Boston Harbor with my fishing buddy Sean. Our goal was flounder, but what I got was pretty much a rather damp workout. When we headed out the weather was pretty nice. Sunshine and a brisk, but not overpowering, breeze.

With Boston in the background, we launched from Deer Island and immediately set to trying to catch us some flatfish for dinner. My friend Sean was stoked to test out his new Hobie kayak outfitted with foot peddles. By the end of the morning, I wished I have invested in a kayak with a supplimental drive system as well.

Sean was able to snag three fairly nice flounder. Me, all I got was this freaky looking critter.

A special prize goes to the first person who can correctly ID this animal. I give you one hint, ain't no flounder.

Anyway, after little success on my end, we decided to paddle out to the Deer Island Light in hopes of running into some early season striped bass. They usually don't show up in our area until June, but we had heard rumors thought the monofilament grapevine that the hogs had come in early this year. As soon as we made it out to the light house, the wind picked up to a more than brisk 15 mph. After tooling around in the leeward side of the light for a bit with no further luck, I decided I had had enough and called to Sean that I was going to paddle around the the protected side of Deer Island to get away from the wind and go on in. The wind immediately kicked up to 20 mph coming directy from the direction I was headed. Now if you are not familiar with Deer Island, it really is no longer an island, but a penesula that has been connected to the mainland via a roadway that was laid on top of a bed of boulders. Point is, there is always at least one side of the "island" that is protected from the wind. Unfortunately for me, apparently Poseidon did not get this memo. So as I paddled back, he decided to kick it up a notch with about 5 more mph's on the headwind, which somehow managed to remain in my face the entire way back to the beach. After almost an hour of paddling into what could only be considered a rather "srtong" headwind, I finally made it back to the landing, exhausted and fishless.

Like they say, a bad day on the water . . . . . . .

 

Comments

Nunderw00b's picture
Submitted by Nunderw00b on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 22:00
Where the heck were the claspers? I couldn't see them at all.. Had I seen them I would have had it long ago. :-( GJ Jedi...
redeye's picture
Submitted by redeye on Sun, 05/16/2010 - 06:14
What a great way to spend a day! I'm jealous. No idea what that 'fish' is btw.
Nunderw00b's picture
Submitted by Nunderw00b on Sun, 05/16/2010 - 13:30
Looks kinda like an Eel
Nunderw00b's picture
Submitted by Nunderw00b on Sun, 05/16/2010 - 13:31
An Eel that ate a Blowfish
wamam87's picture
Submitted by wamam87 on Sun, 05/16/2010 - 16:24
ok...so i've looked on the interwebz for this thing twice now. if you can't find something on the internet in under 30 min, then it doesn't exist. pics or it didn't happen...oh, wait.
Fish66's picture
Submitted by Fish66 on Wed, 05/19/2010 - 11:59
Cool
Rau's picture
Submitted by Rau on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 07:52
Monk Fish?
Devonsangel's picture
Submitted by Devonsangel on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 10:03
horseshoe crab?
Waterborn's picture
Submitted by Waterborn on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 10:27
Hehe, this is an actual animal. It is an Atlantic Skate (http://www.mcaorals.co.uk/Photos/Deep%20Sea%20Fish/Skate.jpg) . When caught, they tend to ball up as a means of protection, similar to a porcupine. So now that you know what it is, if someone can tell me if it is male or female (and explain exactly how you know) you will win the Halo 3 Spartan figure and armor pack. Good luck!
Jedi_Kez's picture
Submitted by Jedi_Kez on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 10:57
I'm going to say female, cause her tail is swollen with the eggs she's carrying.
Waterborn's picture
Submitted by Waterborn on Wed, 05/19/2010 - 14:35
You can see one of the claspers (white appendage) in the bottom right corner of the picture above. The fact that the skate has is pectoral fins ("wings") curled up around its body threw some folks off.
Waterborn's picture
Submitted by Waterborn on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 11:18
Good (but ultimately wrong) guess on gender or reasoning or both ;)
Jedi_Kez's picture
Submitted by Jedi_Kez on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 12:13
it's male, due to the spines along it's wing
Waterborn's picture
Submitted by Waterborn on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 12:33
wrong again
Jedi_Kez's picture
Submitted by Jedi_Kez on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 13:42
It's male due to the colouring? I swear my internet search skills have totally failed me on this one.
Nunderw00b's picture
Submitted by Nunderw00b on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 17:12
Female skate, it only has one dorsal fin on the tail.
Nunderw00b's picture
Submitted by Nunderw00b on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 17:24
also, it doesn't have large claspers, which males use to anchor themselves to females during reproduction.
Waterborn's picture
Submitted by Waterborn on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 18:28
So far Nunderwood is closest to the mark, but wrong just the same. Come on folks, now that you know the animal, this should be pretty easy. Does no one want the Halo 3 Spartan figure?
Davicams's picture
Submitted by Davicams on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 18:42
Males have irregular whitish blotches and numerous dark spots while females have reduced or absent blotches, so female?
Waterborn's picture
Submitted by Waterborn on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 18:59
Sigh, you folks are making my inner marine biologist weep.
Nunderw00b's picture
Submitted by Nunderw00b on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 19:20
Female, The upper surface of the disc – especially in females – is rough with a distinct spine pattern. Specifically, there are 2 to 4 irregular rows of thorn-like spines on either side of midline of the disc extending to the anterior part of tail
FreynApThyr's picture
Submitted by FreynApThyr on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 11:47
Bad day on the water beats a good day at work. Nice pics Dane.
Waterborn's picture
Submitted by Waterborn on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 19:25
Waterborn's picture
Submitted by Waterborn on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 19:26
Sigh Facepalm Walks away shaking head (all this was typed in the preceding post, but did not show up for some reason)
waterboy's picture
Submitted by waterboy on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 12:29
It looks like the Flood from Halo. Where's Master Chief!
LostPoetB24's picture
Submitted by LostPoetB24 on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 19:28
I know i know
Habu06's picture
Submitted by Habu06 on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 13:05
Is that a fahken wicked retahded quahog?
Nunderw00b's picture
Submitted by Nunderw00b on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 20:08
Dane, you suck LOL Ok, here's another shot at it. I'm going to change the gender of my guess and go with Male,=. It has something to do with the dorsal fin, I just haven't pinpointed why yet.
Nunderw00b's picture
Submitted by Nunderw00b on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 20:17
I'm not a marine biologist, or even close. I'm better with reptiles, amphibians, and some mammals. Fish and their ilk are kinda out of my spectrum.
budman24's picture
Submitted by budman24 on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 15:09
^^I lol'd
Nunderw00b's picture
Submitted by Nunderw00b on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 20:18
And you can't really see anything truly distinctive in the photo, unless you know what you are looking for.
wamam87's picture
Submitted by wamam87 on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 15:29
i think it's a flounder that's been swimming in that contaminated water for a little to long. :)
Jedi_Kez's picture
Submitted by Jedi_Kez on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 20:23
It's male because it does have claspers
Nunderw00b's picture
Submitted by Nunderw00b on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 20:27
It does? I can't see them..
wamam87's picture
Submitted by wamam87 on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 15:50
i can't find anything that even resembles it. the thing doesn't even have any fins!?!?!
LostPoetB24's picture
Submitted by LostPoetB24 on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 21:29
This skate looks very much like the little skate, but it is larger and has more numerous teeth. The front angle of the disc is much blunter than a right angle, bulging opposite the eyes, and the tip of the snout is rounded. The teeth are in from 72 to 110 series in each jaw instead of 66 series, or fewer as in erinacea, and they are sharper in males than in females. The backs of both sexes are rough with sharp spines on the head, around the eyes, along the anterior margins of the pectorals, over the shoulders, and on the sides of the tail. The midline of the back behind the shoulders is almost always free of spines in adults. But we have one specimen, a female 18 inches long taken near Jeffreys Ledge, November 1, 1927, which bears a row of large spines along the midline of back and tail from the shoulder girdle to the first dorsal fin. Males, like those of other skates, have rows of retractile hooks on the outer parts of the pectorals. The two dorsal fins are close together; the outer corners of the pectorals are bluntly angular; the claspers of adult males reach about halfway back along the tail, which occupies about half the total length of the fish
LostPoetB24's picture
Submitted by LostPoetB24 on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 21:30
So the teeth are sharper in males making this a male lol
jcotter13's picture
Submitted by jcotter13 on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 16:47
It's a rare scrotum fist. Also known as the ball-sac blow-fish.
Waterborn's picture
Submitted by Waterborn on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 21:46
BINGO! - "It's male because it does have claspers" Jedi, thank you for finally figuring this out. I was starting to wonder if anyone was going to get the correct answer. You are the winner of the What the Fuck Was That? Halo 3 contest. PM me your addy and I will ship out the SWAG to you this week. The rest of you disappoint me. :)
Fish66's picture
Submitted by Fish66 on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 17:26
Looks like something from inside a very large Fish. More pictures from different angles would help. Seriously, it looks cool.

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