Sea scorpion

Hey lads,
Have seen quite a few reports of sea scorpions being caught lately,ive never seen one and know bugger all about them.can any of you throw a few lines,or even a picture of one?

cheers,
Skateboy.

[img]http://homepage.ntlworld.com/adrianjacobs/Sea_Scorpion_Church_Ope_14-2-03(1).jpg[/img]


ugly buggers arent they :)

Andy

Andy,

Not to other Sea Scorpions they're not :lol: :lol:

I quite like to look at them when I manage to catch them, do you know, if you put one on the sand it will walk back down to the sea...croacking all the way.

Some are Red other blue and like the one in your picture brown.

I can see your a parky angler :lol: :lol:

Tom.

Here's a link that has info/pictures of the dirty little scoundrels!

http://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/Taurulusbubalis.htm

Think that ones been on the drink :lol: :lol:

thanks a million,lads,that was really quick!thanks for the info/pics.

Biggest one I've seen caught was about 1.5lb, had a head like a football.

One of my mates caught one off of kilmore quay last month, apparently the first one caught there but i dont know if thats true or not.Tried to post photo but i'm usless with computers he caught it using feathers when fishing for coalfish.

they do seem to take baited feathers over broken/rough ground had one myself there in the summer past from portrush was a first for me.

I caught a small one at "The Safe" in Rosslare about 6 months ago. Reminded me of the mother in law! :D :D

I just seem to attract them like the plague.... :roll:

I know what you mean, whenever i'm fishing in dun laoighre for flatties inside the pier i always catch them without fail, i dont think its that exact species of scorpion fish,think its called a shorthorn sculpin i was looking at the species guide a while back to see what they kind i was catching.
The thing is i've been fishing at that pier with my dad since i was a kid but i only began to catch them here in the last 5 years..any particular reason for this?

seem to be on the increase around rocky ground and harbours etc, perhaps to do with increase in water temperature or maybe due to the fact that more anglers are scaling their gear down in recent years??

What baits do they take?

Anything!

If you really want to catch them, take the guts from inside a limpet, stuff into a finger muslin and whip it onto a hook - excellent for other things too.

FWIW

Virtually all the ones I've caught have fallen to lugworm.