# Help me identify a fish?



## Pandapop

I had taken a picture but it apparently didn't save... I'm very disappointed -- this fish was so WEIRD looking. 

My father caught it while using a small type of mackeral as bait (that was previously caught with some lure), and it seriously looked like a cross between a toadfish, monkfish, and anglerfish.

It was a reddish color around the fins, more of a magenta color where it connected to the body, and it was brownish around the head. Belly was a brown/orange color. 

It had thick, rounded fins and a bit of a pot-belly. Mouth was huge -- had small teeth. It seriously looked like it could walk on land if it wanted to, with those fins.

Anyone think they can throw me some ideas of what it might have been?


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## bloatedguppy

Sounds like a scorpionfish or a Sculpin but it's near impossible to tell without a pic.


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## TheOldSalt

Walking Batfish


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## Corwin

sculpin's look really neat, how big do they get?


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## Pandapop

Definitely not a Walking Batfish or Scorpionfish.

It might be some sort of Sculpin... I just learned that there are TONS of species of Sculpin, many of which resemble the fish I saw -- some had the right fins, the right head, belly or colors... but not all four in one. 

Closest that I could find was this one, here:

Antlered Sculpin

Because of the head, eye, 'pot-belly', fin and spine similarities. 
But the color is all wrong, and it didn't have those 'antlers' on the side of its head.

This is a perfect example of what the stomach-to-head looked like (bottom left-hand side):









This fish LITERALLY 'stood up' on its pectoral fins (hence why I said it looked like it could walk on land if it wanted to), mouth agape with the mackeral locked between its teeth. It was probably about a foot in length, from tip of the head to the very end of his tail. Pelvic fins were kind of small and were limp at its sides.

Again, it was a reddish color all around with some brown/light orange on the belly and under its 'chin'. Darker brownish color along the backside and tail, and top of the head.

We were fishing in MAINE (USA), by the way, on the Ogunquit beach at the far end of the rocky walk-way. So the water was probably VERY deep, and it was between high and low-tide (wasn't high-tide, but we came back later that night and it was lower than it was before -- couldn't even cast into the water).

Head is almost spot-on with a monkfish (including the small teeth):









But the body of the monkfish (and its fins) are wrong.

Maybe this will help more...?


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## FishMatt

I don't know but the fish in the picture looks scary.


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## redpaulhus

maybe a searobin ?
or sea raven (_Hemitripterus americanus_)
or an ocean pout (_Zoarces americanus_)

approximately where were you - ie what state and how deep was the water ?

I've caught all 3 on bait in new england waters, and each has aspects similar to what you described (although I've only gotten robins south of Cape Cod, and pout's north or the Cape).


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## Pandapop

THAT'S IT. THAT'S IT!
It's a Sea Raven! That's what it is! 
This is the EXACT same fish! Only this one looks chunkier, haha.










The image is saved as 'sculpin', is a Sea Raven a type of Sculpin?


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## saim45

I think this is a black snapper .


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