hey guys. long story short (thread on the long story will come later in the collecting board) we netted a huge fish (3.5 to 4 feet) with the cast net. i have never seen this type of fish, so I'm at a loss at how to describeit . it was so big and/or heavy that as I pulled the cast net up it opened and let out the fish. as a result, the fish that got away has no picture to go along with it.
can you help me try to figure it out?
it was as i said 3.5 to 4 feet long. it looked like it had a big smile. it was mostly grey with some black lines. it looked like a scaleless fish (like a shark or whale type of thing). didnt have the body shape of a catfish. it was deep bodied, not thin. so i dont think it was bowfin, snakehead, or alligator gar or anything along those lines. as an after thought body shape reminded me of a butterfly peacock bass, but it had none of its colors and it was much bigger than any butterfly peacock i've ever seen.
i know, vague, but i dont know how else to describe it! what does that sound like to you?
this was in the south side of the Everglades along Tamiami Trail in Dade county.
any guesses? thanks!
need help identifying monster fish from everglades
Started by
Guest_trojannemo_*
, Jan 10 2010 10:54 PM
16 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_FirstChAoS_*
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Posted 10 January 2010 - 11:05 PM
I don't know much about Florida species but the "peacock bass like body" and grey coloration with a black stripe makes me wonder if it could be a snook. Their mainly saltwater but I hear they do enter brackish and maybe fresh water at times.
#3
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Posted 10 January 2010 - 11:11 PM
Snook is what came to my mind too. Here are some pics of established exotics in FL: http://www.myfwc.com..._Identifier.pdf
#4
Guest_Kanus_*
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Posted 10 January 2010 - 11:59 PM
Is it possible it was some sort of carp? I watched a fly fishing show one time where they were catching huge grass carp out of some of those little canals you have down that way. They are grey, but with those big scales and murky/dark water, I could see how they might be mistaken as a patterning.
Just a thought.
Just a thought.
#5
Guest_mikez_*
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Posted 11 January 2010 - 04:22 PM
Sounds like am large striped mullet. The smile gives it away.
The really big ones look freaky and don't look like pics usually seen of bait sized ones.
The really big ones look freaky and don't look like pics usually seen of bait sized ones.
#6
Guest_trojannemo_*
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Posted 11 January 2010 - 07:56 PM
Sounds like am large striped mullet. The smile gives it away.
The really big ones look freaky and don't look like pics usually seen of bait sized ones.
i actually caught what I think is a mullet that was 22 inches that same day. the fish in question was much deeper bodied, didn't look scaly like the mullet does, and had a big head to it. the more i think about it (and the more my memory fades) i think it could have been a monster sized peacock bass...except the coloration doesnt match!
#7
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Posted 12 January 2010 - 08:40 PM
i actually caught what I think is a mullet that was 22 inches that same day. the fish in question was much deeper bodied, didn't look scaly like the mullet does, and had a big head to it. the more i think about it (and the more my memory fades) i think it could have been a monster sized peacock bass...except the coloration doesnt match!
swordspine snook
#8
Guest_trojannemo_*
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Posted 12 January 2010 - 09:48 PM
swordspine snook
according to myFWC Swordspine Snook stays to about 12 inches...if it's a snook it's got to be a Common Snook as this fish was at least 3 feet, but more likely about 4 feet. some of the pictures I found of large snooks look kinda like it. so do pictures of large peacock bass. so since i dont have a picture nor a very good recollection (not anymore!) i'm going to keep it at "either or" between those two species.
thanks guys!
#9
Guest_Clayton_*
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Posted 13 January 2010 - 01:13 PM
Do any of the larger groupers get into those waters?
#10
Guest_Kanus_*
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Posted 13 January 2010 - 01:26 PM
What about a tarpon? I know snooks get big, but a 4 foot tarpon seems much more likely in the same sorta habitat, and I've heard they will go pretty far into freshwater systems.
#11
Guest_Gambusia_*
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Posted 13 January 2010 - 02:22 PM
How big do butterfly peacock bass get in Florida?
#12
Guest_trojannemo_*
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Posted 16 January 2010 - 11:04 PM
went back today again and saw the fish again! tried catching it but had a horrible cast and it got away...for the second time.
however, this time managed to catch a crappy picture of it and two other witnesses, so now i have a better description:
2.5-3 feet long, very wide, so unproportionate to be a gar. it looks as if it had skin, not scales. the coloration was grey with what looked like stains or patches on the body, not lines. it's 100% not a peacock bass. since it's not scaly then most likely not an alligator gar. it doesnt look like tarpon or snook (as suggested before) either, yet again, rather than shiny scales it looked much like a shark or a whale does, fleshy skin.
anyways, with the above in mind, here's the best picture i could get after much photoshopping. if you can enhance it further please do so!
what is it?!
however, this time managed to catch a crappy picture of it and two other witnesses, so now i have a better description:
2.5-3 feet long, very wide, so unproportionate to be a gar. it looks as if it had skin, not scales. the coloration was grey with what looked like stains or patches on the body, not lines. it's 100% not a peacock bass. since it's not scaly then most likely not an alligator gar. it doesnt look like tarpon or snook (as suggested before) either, yet again, rather than shiny scales it looked much like a shark or a whale does, fleshy skin.
anyways, with the above in mind, here's the best picture i could get after much photoshopping. if you can enhance it further please do so!
what is it?!
#14
Guest_NateTessler13_*
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Posted 17 January 2010 - 12:28 AM
That's what it looks like to me. A mirror variety of the Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio).
#15
Guest_Amazon_*
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Posted 17 January 2010 - 01:00 PM
im gonna guess
between
mirror carp (as said before)
red drum
or possibly a buffalo fish
between
mirror carp (as said before)
red drum
or possibly a buffalo fish
#16
Guest_trojannemo_*
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Posted 17 January 2010 - 01:48 PM
after a recommendation on another forum, it looks to me like a giant snakehead.
this is the closest any species has looked to the fish in question.
i think it may be a snakehead...i'm going back next weekend after it!!!
this is the closest any species has looked to the fish in question.
i think it may be a snakehead...i'm going back next weekend after it!!!
#17
Guest_smokehound_*
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Posted 15 October 2012 - 05:51 AM
Yay! I get to solve this!
(lol another necro, but i have the answer!)
The fish in question is a TRIPLETAIL! As you remember, OP mentioned it looked like a BASS, but with weirdo colors!
Tripletails are common in that area!
(lol another necro, but i have the answer!)
The fish in question is a TRIPLETAIL! As you remember, OP mentioned it looked like a BASS, but with weirdo colors!
Tripletails are common in that area!
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