Fish that give you the willies?

[72Twenty]

I'm sure we all have fish that give you the willies. I'm talking about even watching them on tv. As a kid I witnessed my friends dad catch a HUGE barracuda in the same place we would swim and water ski. I remember seeing the teeth and the eyes of that thing (I was only 8 years old). Ever since then, the barracuda has freaked me out - enough to where I was frightened of them for a long time even in fresh water and in pools as a kid. I can swim in lakes now, but I still have the "back-of-your-mind-from-childhood" feeling that something is in the deep water that is going to get me. I watched an hour long show on Discovery about the 'cudda this year, and I still got goose bumps.

What fish kinda freaks you out?

I know sharks are the easy answer, but is there a fish, even a harmless one that gives you the willies? Even wading in rivers, do you ever occasionally peek down by your feet just to see if anything is there, even though you know nothing int he river is going to "get you"?

Another one for me is snapping turtles (not a fish). I was fishing for catfish in a bayou in Houston once and I hooked something heavy. I cranked and cranked and got right next to the shore to bring it up to the surface. All of the sudden the head of a snapping turtle came out of the water and scared the shit out of me. He had my hook in his throat and I had to cut my line (Spiderwire). Totally freaked me out.

http://www.divemagazine.co.uk/news/images/Barracuda2006SRogerson1.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Alligator_snapping_turtle.jpg

[mushmouth]

The Northern Stargazer is a fish found in the surf that's ugly, acts weird and can shock you, literally.

I had heard of them but never caught one before last year. I was fishing on a small jetty, reeling in near the edge and thought I snagged a rock so I hopped off the jetty and pulled from an angle away. The "snag" came loose, fought like a fish for a second, then got "snagged" again so I yanked it more and reeled in this ugly piece of shit.
http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/attachment.php?attachmentid=173142&stc=1&d=1224467980
(not my photo)

The snag aspect was it burying itself in the sand. I realized this because each time I gave some slack to try and remove the hook, it buried itself amazingly and creepily fast in the sand.

So, although this isn't a big fish and really can't hurt you unless you really do something weird, it's a fish that gives me the willies.

[warthog]

http://people.cornellcollege.edu/b-hess/geo105/images/remora.jpg

Fuckers are always following me.
and
http://www.missalicefaye.com/blog/pics/gefilte.JPG

For other reasons.

[schwerty]

I saw a Musky take a chunk out of a kids leg in northern WI when I was a kid. Those things are mean fuckers! I'll never forget it. Still love to catch them though.

[The Suit]

When I was a kid fishing at the pier in Kitty Hawk, NC, a bloodworm attached itself to the back of my finger as I was trying to bait a hook. It hurt like hell and I've had a grudge against bloodworms ever since.

But I guess that's not a fish.

Sea snakes aren't fish, either, are they?

[hop]

Two years later, I still have a hickey scar from a remora that attached itself to me for less than a second.

[ak_powder_monkey]

Wolf Eels... Yuck

[bklyn]

monkfish (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/photos/monkfish/)
http://www.fotosearch.com/comp/ICN/ICN204/monkfish_~F0014386.jpg

[Happy Fun Ball]

Although they are probably one of the tastiest fish I've ever eaten, Burbot (Freshwater Cod) still freak me out when I catch one ice fishing. They have a tendency to coil around your arm like an eel if you pick them up.
http://fish.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/Gadidae/burbot.jpg


I don't really like to handle Bullhead catfish either. Fucking nasty sonsofbitches!!

[72Twenty]

Honestly, even seeing big carp go by in stealth mode is kinda creepy, in a "modern living dinosaur" kinda way. And their mouths are weird too.

[warthog]

http://www.riversportfishing.com/images/sturgeon%20pics/Sharon-R.-Sturgeon-1.jpg

These things scare me, cause you never know when one is gonna land in your lap, or on your head.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060817-sturgeon.html

[khakis]

Had a manatee brush up against me in chest-deep, really cloudy water at Sebastian Inlet (I think) when I was like 12. That freaked me out but it didn't make me scared of manatees.
Also had a sea lion pop his head up about 5 feet from me in SoCal surfing once, also cloudy water, dude's head was way bigger than mine and I had a pretty good moment of reflection that those big suckers were sharing the water with me and I didn't know it.
guess neither of those are fish either :D

[couloirman]

maybe not technically a fish, but the vampire squid is f'in scary. at 55 seconds in the first video, but the second video is better:

S3CJIKKSUpg


l3PvvT_Ktx8

[YetiMan]

very large northern pike used to kind of freak me out. They'll bite a finger off.

http://www.pikepride.com/galleria/Pikes/P1160272.JPG

[72Twenty]

very large northern pike used to kind of freak me out. They'll bite a finger off.

http://www.pikepride.com/galleria/Pikes/P1160272.JPG

To me, they are the fresh water barracuda.

[72Twenty]

These are freaky, but nothing I would ever encounter on my own...

RitJe16c3sM

[GBB]

For me it's alligator gar. They are in all the lakes back home, and i remember when I was about 12, I saw one swim right by the dock that my friend and I were fishing on. I was terrified to get in the water after that.
http://www.iobis.org/images_new/ILAlligatorGar.jpg

[RaccoonFace]

http://www.divemagazine.co.uk/news/images/Barracuda2006SRogerson1.jpg


I just googled barracuda images and this was the first thread that came up! Apparently TGR is a world wide resource for more than just skiing!

I was googling to show someone what a barracuda looked like after telling them a story about ship diving and coming across one (5-6 feet long) in the cargo area. It looked intimidating but didn't think about it much (I didn't know what it was). When we surfaced my dive leader was totally freaked that we were in such a small room with the fish and surprised that we could get out of the ship without being attacked.

Me: "Would that really have attacked us?"

Mike: "FUCK YA MON! DOSE FUCKERS DON'T CARE BOAT NUTIN!"

okbye

[steved]

The Northern Stargazer
http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/attachment.php?attachmentid=173142&stc=1&d=1224467980

...think ya' wanna go with the forceps to get fly back...

You're exactly right 72Twenty!! That's what they are.
Addition(no image): Lake Trout...STILL stocked in Maine. The aholes up here have been keeping them, splake, and brookies for decades....And I mean Decades!..instead of browns and some rainbows in places, and have allowed perch(yellow & white) to infiltrate lakes without blinking an eye. Brain-dead state government up here....has been for quite a while. *..and the only people they hire/promote are 19yo's.....:cussing:
*Back in late 80s..when in Brighton, MA..near mid/upper Charles, ~5am..saw one of those big snapping suckers..had to be ~50", make its way across road...friggin monster. Couple years later was invited to a Moonlight Paddle On The Charles.. I've paddled enough to know what can happen in pitch darkness....decided to go simply to help asap if anyone flipped...but paddle that warmwater river alone in the dark...No F......g Way...:rolleyes:

[likwid]

...think ya' wanna go with the forceps to get fly back...

Fuck that, he can keep it, flies are cheap.

Bluefish any time hands need to be near their mouths. :eek:

[steved]

Agreed, Blues are the ones with real teeth.