unusual catch

[tonynufc]

a lad i know had a few mates on his boat on saturday and one of them managed to catch a anglerfish. the boat was coral diver from willington quay boating federation skippered by john ward

[Raptor1]

Nice catch quite rare up this way,only point its a Angler Fish.

[tonynufc]

Nice catch quite rare up this way,only point its a Angler Fish.

thats what i thought but when he told me about it he called it a monkfish, i googled monkfish and it showed pics of the same fish

[Raptor1]

Got to agree with you Tony im confused now as looked now myself at resent photos..I caught both species many moons ago like 70s on the charter boats wrecking in Cornwall.That fish in picture was always known as an Angler fish.Monkfish are similar looking but much flatter and longer.Guess someone's going to know answer.Still rare and excellent catch on our coast regardless.

[Charlton]

the name monk fish used mainly by commercial fishermen fish covers a few species of fish which are similar, the one here is an angler fish

[The Plum]

as an ex trawlerman myself caught many thousands of them as far as im concerned its a monkfish same as anglerfish scampi is made from there tails taste delicious

[alcaucin]

there are over 200 species of angler fish, only the female has the little fishing rod lure to catch prey which can be short or long and have different shaped lures depending on the species. The british boat record is around 95lbs and the shore record around 68lb. Ugly buggers but very good predators with massive mouths and lightning fast reactions. Often taken in trawler nets but not so common on rods. Forgot to add I had an unusual catch today while spinning on the pier, a mackerel all of 3-4 ins long, it actually went for the spinner. Smallest mackerel ive seen let alone catch.

[Tadpoleman]

Aye it's a angler fish ! Called monk by trawler men
I've caught monk fish (Angel shark) in Ireland and they look totally different

[alcaucin]

yes, the angel shark is totally different and it is regionally extinct now in places like the north sea when once it was abundant. No commercial value and was forever getting caught in nets and longlines it was thrown back dead.

[kayos]

Monkfish | Britishseafishing.co.uk

[saltysam]

as an ex trawlerman myself caught many thousands of them as far as im concerned its a monkfish same as anglerfish scampi is made from there tails taste delicious

as an ex commercial fisherman as well ---Agreed

[Davey1970]

whatever it is,
it's ugly....!