Northwest Fishing Reports

This saturday we were catching several odd looking fish off the bottom just south of mukilteo. 40-60 feet of water, using cut herring. They looked to me like baby dogfish, except everything was out of proportion...Big fins, Big black eyes, and an odd mouth on the bottom, with little grinding teeth inside, and two round holes on the bottom of the snout, in front of the mouth. The oddest part was their color. A very shimmery, almost transluscent Bright, Bright Silver, with some mottled color in there. Sorry, no pics, and can't find anything like them online. Any ideas, or suggestions of where I can look for pictures?

Baffled.

Sounds like a Ratfish...

Jake Dogfish wrote:Sounds like a Ratfish...

i second that except for the black eyes... could they have been dark green? best bet would be a ratfish from the rest of your description did it look like this?

That there is definately a Ratfish.One of G-ds weird creatures that swim around.I just let them go along with the Doggies.I dont kill and butcher fish I dont eat other then Pike Minnows.

Ratfish...Creepiest, nastiest looking thing in the sound....

ME and my buddy hooked and landed a 5 foot seven gill shark fishing off of seacrest pier in elliot bay with herring on the bottom so it may have been a baby seven gill

You think that is ugly, look up Pacific Hagfish.
We use to pull them up on our longline off the coast of washington. We called them slime eels, when they feel threatened they cover themselves in sticky gooey slime. Absolutely Disgusting.

Your description reminds me of a Hake aka Pacific Whiting or Pacific Hake. We use to catch them off the Edmonds dock at night growing up. Just a thought.

and heres the 2 holes u were talking about.....definetly a ratfish

That is definately a ratfish.
http://www.coldwaterimages.com/spotted_ratfish.html

Every year while doing Elliot in the wee AM hours a Polish guy motors around asking for the hake.I just hate changing 10-20 leaders in the wee hours while fishing.Those hake got some Pirahna teeth.

Thanks guys,

they were absolutely Ratfish. They do look pretty weird. Guess their other names are rabbit fish, and chimera monstrosus.

christopherbeebe wrote:and heres the 2 holes u were talking about.....definetly a ratfish

wow that looks so alien.yet human

You might want to watch out for the venomous spike at the base of the dorsal fin. It won't kill you but you will know you got poked for several hours. It isn't real comfortable. The little rat fish is one goofy looking fish found here in Puget Sound. They are bottom feeders so if you don't want to catch them just reel in a little or change to artificial lures..... Good luck and watch that spine! Steve

Thanks for the hint on the spine. I heard that the other day, and was glad we didn't handle them.