![]() Imagine standing beside an interstate highway and casting a hook that snags an 18-wheeler passing at 70 miles per hour. You're likely to come away without any fingers. I set the hook purely out of fright."ĭon't land one with a lip-lock. The water around the lure erupted like a miniature volcano. "No white marlin ever slashed a trolled skipjack any harder than when that grinnel hit my fast-moving spinner. Writer Jim Spencer gave a vivid account of one bowfin encounter: "It was possibly the most violent strike I'll ever see in my life, regardless of the species," he said. Nicknames include mudfish, dogfish and grinnel, but more vulgar monikers often are used by frazzled fishermen with broken lines, mauled lures and shattered poles. If it were the size of an alligator, people wouldn't be safe in the water. The unprepared may see rods snapped like dry spaghetti or stand in amazement after fishing combos are yanked from their hands.Įxamine a bowfin, and you get the definite impression that, given a chance, it would chew your arm off. Hundred-pounders are possible, and a fish half that size can pummel an angler till his arms tremble and his legs turn to Jello. The flathead's unsightliness doesn't stop a devoted fraternity of anglers from pursuing these brutes, however. Looking at this fish, one feels that even others of its kind find it repulsive. Its thickened under-lip protrudes in a perpetual pout, worm-like barbels dangle from its chin and mouth, and its hide is the color and texture of a garden slug. Its flattened cranium looks like it was run through a trash compactor. This widespread catfish is ugly by all accepted standards. The hook's sting prompts repeated jumps that will leave you breathless. ![]() Hold tight, 'cause this is one bottom sucker that flies. Sturgeons over 1,000 are rare now, but 200- to 500-pounders are common in Idaho's Snake River and the Columbia of Washington and Oregon. A 2,000-pound Oregon fish was mounted for exhibition at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. White sturgeons grow larger than any fish in North America's inland waters. If you're lucky enough to prevail in a battle with one, you'll be taken aback by this ugly lout with armored skin, a bulbous nose, a Hitler-like mustache of barbels and a vacuum-cleaner mouth big enough to suck up softballs. Weighing up to a ton, this Goliath fries drags, busts rods and snaps 100-pound line like sewing thread. Nothing can prepare you for the white sturgeon's astounding power. If you mess with this bad boy, be sure your life insurance is paid up. "It tore the side of the boat out and broke the man's leg!" Nineteenth-century news accounts describe many instances of persons being killed or injured by these fish, including people snatched off houseboats. "A guy fishing with us one day let one jump in the boat," Fox said. He tells the story of one client so horrified by the hellish stare of a gar that jumped near the boat, he deep-sixed Fox's rod and reel, with the gar still hooked, and demanded to be taken immediately to shore. John Fox guided for Arkansas gator gars in the 1950s. Looking into one's tooth-studded maw is like staring death in the eye. Its size impresses - sometimes more than 8 feet and 300 pounds. That's a good description of the alligator gar, an armored-covered leviathan of Southern lakes and rivers. Below are the details on why these fish made the list. The ugliest game fish list: Alligator Gar, White Sturgeon, Flathead Catfish, Bowfin, Piraiba, Giant Trahira, Black Piranha, Wels Catfish, Lingcod and Stingray. They're the meanest, ugliest game fish in the world. They rip flesh, smash boats and sometimes kill. And all these mean-and-nasties wreak havoc on the stalwart anglers who pursue them. ![]() Every species listed will test the backbone of rod and angler, putting up a fight that will make you scream, "Enough!" or have you begging for more. Size wasn't a prerequisite, but aggressiveness was. Hook one, and chances are good it'll kick your butt - if it doesn't eat you first. These bad boys are hard on the eyes and have terrible personalities to boot. We didn't pick them 'cause they're pretty. Bring one up and everyone on the boat will gasp in horror. But this is the first time anyone created a list of the world's meanest and ugliest fish. Websites and magazines often publish lists of the world's toughest or most dangerous game fish. ![]()
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