Hey here's a fun new topic idea! It may have been done before, but let's revisit it anyway. The newcomers can respond and so can the "old-timers." Hopefully it'll get us away from the snagging/b*tch/bullsh*t threads, anyway.

Describe some of the most physically messed up fish you've ever caught/seen. They can be salmon, steelies, trout, etc.

I have a couple contributions myself, but they aren't much. Okay, here they are:

-Caught a trout once with an empty eyesocket (had one eye, but was missing the other)
-Caught a few hatchery steelies with completely chewed/rubbed off dorsal fins-this one's pretty common I'm sure (btw, this wasn't in a river where hatcheries CLIP the dorsals, just the adiposes)
Caught a wild steelhead one time with what appeared to be a carved design in its adipose (don't think it was natural-somebody probably caught it and before releasing it, carved into its fin-sad that people would actually mutilate a fish, I released it unharmed)
-Caught a springer last year with a round hole on one of its sides that went almost to the spine (wasn't a seal bite either-pretty sure it was one of those lamprey that attach themselves to the fish and suck-had little puncture holes all around the circle most likely from the lamprey teeth)
-Caught one of those triploid trout last year with a majorly hyperextended a$$hole-literally hanging 2 plus inches down from the main underside of the fish (looked like a pink worm hanging down)

Now I know these aren't the most messed up fish out there. Let's hear some GOOD stories.

[ 12-08-2001: Message edited by: Krome Brite ]

This isn't a paticular fish but,
"Fishing was so good today I thought it was yesterday." fp

you must be really bored

Krome those steelhead you caught that had the short dorsal fins nip at each other when they are young in a hatchery. We're growing steelhead up at Peninsula College and just about everyone has a short dorsal fin. I think the hatchery ones with a normal sized dorsal fin is an aggresive one that wasn't getting picked on by anyone else. I haven't caught any weird fish, but I've had dolly varden spit up their meal of salmon fry.

~ Dr Pepper

I caught a sturgeon the other day that had a deformed spine. It was S shaped. I got another one a few years ago w/o a tail, just a nub. It was 40" long and would have been 46"+ with a tail.
I caught a steelhead two summers ago that was chrome bright from the head to its mid-section and black from the mid-section to the tail. I let it go, it was weird looking. those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head.- John

Fish'n'magician,

You might want to call the fish and wildlife folks about that fish. That sounds like it might be whirling disease. If WD is in an Oregon river, they probably want to know about it to control any spread. We don't want that problem here.

I cought a large rainbow in Lake Washington that
had a plastic ring from a six pack wrapped around
it's body, when I cut it off and released the fish
it looked like a double jointed plug. I hope he grew back to normal.

Cigar

Great start! Never seen a fish barf, but I think that'd be kinda cool to see some time. BTW Pepper, if the fish with perfect dorsals are the most agressive, then why is it that not very people catch them? Those sturgeon sound awfully messed up-must be from the Willamette?. Weird steelhead, was it a fresh fish too? And that poor 'bow, just goes to show the physical effects of what people's littered trash does to wildlife. And ratfish-they're in the ocean right? Seem to remember seeing a picture one time. That's right, they kinda looked like RT. :p

Not sure KB, but I think the fish will all have short dorsal fins by the time they are going to be released. We took out 7 fish and only 1 had a normal sized dorsal fin so it is sorta rare.

~ Dr Pepper

Hey, there are so many messed up dorsal fins in WA because of so many Wassie crackers that snag them there. And KB, did ya have to tell us about a feesh with an extended pooper?!? Geeeeez! :p Did you lend it your Prep H?

The weirdest looking fish I ever landed looked just like a rusted shovel head. Likely because it was a rusted shovel head; that I caught on the Nestucca. Earlier in my fishing life I hooked this curved piece of steel in a strong current and it felt like a fish twisting and pulling hard in the heavy water. Yelled loud 'till my buddies ran over to help me land it.

I've seen a lot of weird looking fish, but I'm about falling asleep on my keyboard - I'll try to type them later.

This is truly one messed up fish.

Back in the late '80's I caught a two tailed coho off of Pier 57, next to the aquarium. I had seen or heard of a couple others, too.

The story seems to be that they came from the aquarium's tiny hatchery, and that the fish raised there were inbred horribly, resulting in these mutants. They didn't fight any better than the one tailed variety.

Fish on...

Todd.

Didn't we have an ugly fish pic thread recently? I think I remember that fish in it that James is holding there. I bet it was fine until he put the 'mean set' on that poor fish.

In that other thread, or somewhere, pic was posted of a steelhead that had a normal lower jaw but the upper jaw and face was pushed in so far it looked like it had run full speed into a metal hulled boat. It kinda looked like a fish characature of Sammy Davis.

I'm new to the board, first post. This fall I caught a 14" otherwise healthy rainbow that had a hole in his head. Seriously, he was sporting a big gaping divot where his nose and front teeth should have been. Figured he survived a tussle with a great blue heron. Imagine a big prehistoric-looking thing suddenly piercing your world like that. Felt bad for the fella, but he fought just as hard as any other trout in his class.

RT- That had to be Hawk that posted that pic. Saw that fish when he caught it. His buddy caught one just like it a week later. Suppose to have happened when they broom the raceway at the hatchery. Damn ugly fish

Hey Krome
I have caught lots of Ling Cod that hurl as soon as you put them in the net. We caught a bunch one day that heurled everytime they got in the boat. That was a slimey mess.

GutZ

while fishing mineral lake a while ago every trout we caught that day had huge red sores on its body with stuff that looked like puss coming out of it. They tasted great though (jk) all were relased.
Tyler