Weirdest fish ever!!!!

[smilesforu]

While going through a old fishing collectible I ran across a photo of this fish caught right out my front door 50+ years ago. Ever seen one? I haven't

[Pete]

Looks like a chinook after 3 days in a gill net and 2 days in the bed of a pick up. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[birdhunter]

Very strange. The pic is a little old and blurry so I can't see the details too well. My guess would be that is is some kind of a deep-water pelagic fish. I'm basing that off of the huge eye and apparent lack of fins. If it has a red "mane" my best guess would be an oarfish. They aren't very common at all in the Pacific. Usually they are also much longer than that one. Could be a juvenile, I don't really know. Anyways, that is my best guess. Here is a pic for comparison. See what you think. The faces don't match up too well but this is the only thing I can think of.

[dock rat]

The caption below the picture is correct. The fish is a "King of the Salmon". It is captured fairly frequently primarily by trawlers fishing with mid-water nets in fairly deep water. They are one wierd lookin' duck!

[birdhunter]

Little more research and Doc Rat is absolutely right. They are realated to oarfish, but a different species from the one I described. Here is some more info and a pic for those interested.

King-of-the-salmon . A ribbonfish, Trachypterus altivelis, of northern parts of the Pacific Ocean

The King gets its name because it was thought by native Americans that it would lead salmon back to the spawning grounds. They must have seen it washed ashore and came up with the story. Adults of this species can grow to be 35 feet and have been seen as large as 500 lbs!

[smilesforu]

Good job guys very impressed with your knowledge base. Doesn't look any better even knowing what it is.