Poisonous fish producing electric shock!

megawisdumbmegawisdumbBeach Comber18 postsJoined Jun 16, '09View profile MessageBeach Comber

Sep 6, '10 · 6:11 PM2,131

What is it?

I've been fishing for many years around the area but have never seen or caught the dude that ended up on my line. I was using a cotcha plug along the bottom and this guy comes up. He wasn't in my 200+page gulf fish book. Thought he might be a sea robin of some sort with the top eyes but the black/whit stripe tail rules that out. Let me know if you know. Thanks

Hope the photo attachment loads...

Replies

megawisdumbmegawisdumbBeach Comber18 postsJoined Jun 16, '09View profile MessageBeach ComberAuthor

Sep 6, '10 · 6:18 PM#2

Also, before I get asked...he is back in the Gulf as are most of the fish I reel in. Another pic.

megawisdumbmegawisdumbBeach Comber18 postsJoined Jun 16, '09View profile MessageBeach ComberAuthor

Sep 7, '10 · 7:45 PM#3

OMG! Being a fisherman and not knowing what you caught eats at you. I googled many different unique items about the fish and I believe it is a Stargazer (Uranoscopidae). If so it states that are poisonous because of the presence of two large poison spines that are located on each of its pectoral fins behind the gill cover. These spines can produce 50 volts of electricity and also deliver electric shocks! Electric shock seems a tad over the top but that is what the link stated. Someone with more fish knowledge needs to step up and correct me or confirm it. It did bury itself in the sand very quickly after I released it.

Edited Sep 7, '10 · 7:55 PM

megawisdumbmegawisdumbBeach Comber18 postsJoined Jun 16, '09View profile MessageBeach ComberAuthor

Sep 7, '10 · 7:49 PM#4

Ok the title got your attention, now visit the nature section and view the photos and let me know if what I caught on Sunday at Dune Allen matches a true Stargazer or what is it? Look for the What is it heading. Thanks

ixolibixolibBeach Crab2 postsJoined Sep 7, '10View profile MessageBeach Crab

Sep 7, '10 · 8:07 PM#5

Definitely a Stargazer. :clap:

Edited Aug 29, '15 · 5:11 PM

Kurt

KurtAdminSoWal2,473 postsJoined Oct 15, '04View profile MessageAdmin

Sep 7, '10 · 8:13 PM#6

Very cool and very bizarre - thanks for posting!

megawisdumbmegawisdumbBeach Comber18 postsJoined Jun 16, '09View profile MessageBeach ComberAuthor

Sep 7, '10 · 8:55 PM#7

Thanks for the identification help?especially the YouTube link as that is exactly what he did in 4 inches of water right on the beach. There is a great bit of irony on this one as well. You see my lovely wife and mom gave me hel1 for staying out until 8:30pm that night fishing for sharks in a dingy due to the June Grass yet the ?beautiful? fish they kept touching and looking at ended up being one the top 20 poisonous fishes. Moral: Don?t judge a book by its cover. I put my glove on because I had never seen a fish like this ..granted it probably wouldn?t have helped if he got nasty but at least I knew something was odd. Thanks again!

ixolibixolibBeach Crab2 postsJoined Sep 7, '10View profile MessageBeach Crab

Sep 7, '10 · 9:01 PM#8

Glad to have helped. I personally have caught them before and knew exactly what it was when I saw your picture. Good choice on the gloves! As for the night fishing for sharks, done that as well, just not from a dingy! I would love to try it from a kayak someday though!