It’s been another year of bizarre fish. Anglers managed to catch some truly wild specimens this year after catching several unusual underwater creatures.
It’s not the biggest fish of the year but it’s still some of the most notable catches. Fishing is one of the best things about it: You never know what you will catch.
Bizarre Pufferfish With Buck Teeth
Using an orthodontist-approved set of gophers, Ruta Gudo caught a puffer last summer while surfing in Cabo San Lucas.
The fish’s pink gums and big front teeth seem strikingly similar to what I imagined Huck Finn would have looked like.
In any case, it’s a strange sight to see, regardless of whether it’s a bullseye puffer or not. Bullseye puffers are relatively common along the Pacific Coast from Southern California to Peru.
Giant Goldfish Caught
Despite not being a jumbo-sized goldfish, this one looks like one. While fishing at a pay lake in France, Andy Hackett from Kidderminster, England, landed a hybrid carp weighing 67 pounds, 4 ounces.
It was stocked in the lake to be a unique catch-and it is. Just imagine the sight of a giant carp with neon-orange scales.
Unknown Bizarre Shark
It’s creepy. Australian fisherman Trapman Bermagui caught a shark in September with bulging blue-green eyes and a toothy smile.
Experts disagree on the exact type of shark it is, but it’s certainly a deep-sea creature. One commenter described it as “the stuff of nightmares,” which is a very accurate description.
Orange Smallie
In July, Josh Chrenko caught a stunningly orange smallmouth bass while fishing the Muskegon River in Michigan.
I bet you’d never seen a smallmouth bass like this before.
Due to a rare genetic condition called xanthochromism, which occurs when red pigments are replaced by yellow pigments, the fish appeared to be flourishing in the wild despite such bright coloration.
Jell-O Fish
Here’s a fish that looks—and feels—like Jell-O.
It’s actually known as a blotched snailfish, a species that lives in depths of up to 3,000 feet below the surface.
The bizarre looking specimen was caught by researchers assessing ocean health in the remote environs of the North Pacific.
Blotched snailfish actually produce an anti-freeze protein that keeps them from freezing in such frigid waters.
Sources: Fieldstream
