Ok about 8 years ago my friend, her brother and I were fishing in a small weedy lake/pond in Northern Ontario Canada. My friend was using her "lucky lure" and she caught a fish that to this day we have been unable to identify conclusively. When she reeled it in, her brother and I were at the edge of the boat and when we looked down we were both shocked at the prehistoric looking creature on the end of the line... It was a dull brown, had a blunt rounded face almost like half of a sphere, with very sharp V shaped teeth, its body was short, stocky and thick, it had an interlocking diamond shaped pattern of lines on the skin and did not look like it had scales, it had a round tail and weighed close to 10lbs. It bit the line and got away while we were sitting there slack jawed wondering what it was.
It was not a catfish, ling, pike, pickerel, trout, bass.. or any of the other common fish species that I know of.. The other fish in the lake that we know of are catfish, and northern pike.
2007-02-12 07:22:03 · 6 answers · asked by Kelly + Eternal Universal Energy 7 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Anyone have any suggestions as to what species of fish it may have been??
2007-02-12 07:23:28 · update #1
Bowfin, Amia calva, http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/greatlakesfish/fbowfin.html
or perhaps
Northern snakehead
http://www.lindenhurstil.org/lakescom/snakefish.htm
2007-02-12 07:35:58 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
The bowfin looks like what you described. if this was not it, the "diamond shaped pattern of lines" makes me think of the short-nosed sturgeon. It's a long shot, since you were in a lake, not a river, and the range has been declining. However, someone could have dumped it there long ago when they were still plentiful.
See link below:
http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/English/sturgeon.htm
2007-02-12 16:12:23 · answer #2 · answered by Hauntedfox 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Could be what is commonly called a Burbotte. They resemble a catfish in facial structure, but with much shorter barbels, and the tail is more like that of an eel than a fish.
http://www.oefg1880.at/fischarten/fotos/AALRUTTE_HARRA.jpg
The only other thing I can see it being would be a Bowfin.
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/images/jpegs/bowfin.jpg
Hope this helps!
2007-02-12 20:32:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think what you caught was a fish called a Drum. They make a clicking sound under water that sounds like a drum. If that's what you caught your pretty good they are usually picky and don't bite artificail lures often. Check and see if drum live in the area. I am from Texas and it sounds a lot like a fish I caught many years ago that my dad said was a drum.
2007-02-12 15:32:15 · answer #4 · answered by Sunday P 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
sounds like a dog fish /bowfin
2007-02-13 11:14:46 · answer #5 · answered by hill bill y 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most likely bowfin.
2007-02-12 17:29:10 · answer #6 · answered by mysterycat 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋