Could the sculpin be the inspiration for Alien? Photo: A. Niggemyer
When I reported on a record-breaking catfish catch Tuesday. I couldn’t help noticing that it is one ugly fish.
Is it the most repulsive looking fish in the Great Lakes region?
It’s not like there aren’t other contenders. The muskie has a face only a mother could love. And the deepwater sculpin is just plain creepy.
So what’s the ugliest fish in the Great Lakes region? You tell us. Nominate a contender in the comments section below. One rule: The fish must be native to the Great Lakes region.
Yeah, we know there are a lot of ugly invasives out there. But we don’t need yet another arena where a native species loses out to one that wasn’t even invited.
I nominate the longnose gar, Lepisosteus osseus, a truly ugly fish with a long narrow beak filled with strong, sharp, conical teeth. They commonly grow to 5′ in length and are predacious on other fish. They normally are not caught with hooks, but, with piano wire snares baited with a live fish.
The ugliest fish in the Great Lake region would have to be the bowfin.
No such thing as an ugly native fish! Monday on the Grand Haven pier, I saw 2 12 inch really ugly gobies.