Unfortunate wee huss...

LSD on Weed... sounds like a hippyfish to me...

Haha!
I just spilled my early morning tea thinking of a hippy dogfish!

Looks like a small huss to me. Have a look at the difference in sense organs herehttp://baitdigger.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/wednesday-19th-may/.
I don't think it is right to be disappointed in the boy for bringing it home,what other morally justifiable reason would you have for going fishing? When the animal rights activists really get going on angling who is going to have the best defendable argument for fish? those who fish for fun or those who fish for food. If it is the boys wish to bring the fish home he should be shown how to dispatch it humanely, clean it and if possible how to cook it as well. I know my opinion wont sit well with many of you, but it is up to each of us to decide what we do with our catch and that decision should be respected by all elements in the fishing comunity

the beak is from an octopus mate

he prob got excited about catching it. ah well he will learn to release what hes not for keeping

the beak is from an octopus mate

Thanks for the ID there boycie89, There was no sign of the soft tissue of the octopus in the gut, thats long since been digested, thanks again.

firstly, fair play to the kid on getting the huss one more than me this year i may add . as for taking it home, no harm done one wee fish in a vast ocean. personally i would'nt have the heart to bump a doggie or huss on the head for the pot. not an eco warrior thing, i just think those fish have some sort of character about them. mabey it's something to do with the membrane they have for eyelids that make them look like wee puppys when they blink . it's funny how we all, in our own wee way feel an affection towards a particular species of fish. for me it's doggies, huss, rockling and conger. but on the other side of the coin i would'nt hesitate to bump a coalie or pollack on the head for the pot. each to their own i suppose

We have all killed a fish we shouldn't have, I can remember bringing a blemmy home when I was a kid. It stayed alive for ages, I still remember it to this day.
I'm sure ur little lad will remember that small huss for a very long time. And will deff not kill anything else unless it's for the pot!

I've always been a fan of having a look inside the stomachs of fish.

The beak:

Assuming it is a beak, either of an octopus or squid, I found this image through google which shows a squid and octopus beak side-by-side. Unfortunately they're from California so might not be that similar to the Irish ones (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=33031). I think the beak ingestested by the bull huss is more similar to that of the octopus, based upon small tight bends, predominant dark colouration and lack of long arcing curves. This would be more logical to assume as both octopus and dogfish are benthic (live on the bottom) whereas squid are pelagic (live in mid/open water). Perfectly happy to accept that I could be wrong though.


The sea-weed:

I can't find any reference to Bull Huss or any other members of the Cat shark/Dog fish family eating sea-weed so this is a bit strange. Maybe it was really starving. Alternatively, given that land predators (such as cats) do eat plants in small amounts to aid their digestion, maybe bull huss also do this for the same reason.


The clear jelly stuff:

I'd say this is likely to be the remains of prawn, shrimp and maybe crab, whose flesh is translucent until cooked.


For a bit more on Bull Huss:
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/species ... php?id=854
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_huss

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with the amount of octopus in that area i would go with it, even with the coloration and markings on the fish i thought huss at first glance. nice to see in the area.

the little lad caught a fish and brought it home to show his dad,,,, fair play to him!!! i hope he catches more the next time he goes out, and if he chooses to release them or keep them then thats his choice,, doggies are lovely to eat once you freeze em for a month or 2 first to kill the amonia in them.. .. well done

Yeah Gilks looking in the stomach contents of fish is often very interesting. Thanks for the excellent pic of the beaks, it does look more like the octopus beak for sure and I think its much more likely as octopus are pretty common in these waters.

The bit of weed in the gut was a bit of a surprise alright, I just wonder was it taken and swallowed on purpose at all? From fresh water fishing Ive seen sticks, stones and bits of plant material in trouts guts many times. Trout will often pick up and swallow stones in particular(totally by accident) when bottom feeding for thing like snail, pea mussel and caddis larvae, I just wonder did this huss take the bit of weed in in a similar manner? A friend once took a blue plastic bag out of a pollacks stomach, what did the pollack think the bag was? Maybe they just arent always very selective or fussy and they grab anything that remotely resembles food.

But as you say, maybe it simply was starving, there wasnt much food o#f any description in the stomach so if that bit of weed fluttered infront of the fish for a second like a small fish maybe it just nailed due to its predatory instincts?

Thanks for the feedback and the picture, very helpful.

nice can red no harm in a young angler, taking any kind of fish home i doubt if theres an angler who started fishing when they were young who hasnt brought a fish or two home to show there skill/excitment of to his or her parents i done it myself he will soon learn catch & release is better & a photo or two for his fishing will be as rewarding. well done to the young lad nice fishing.

A Rock Salmon Seeing as it is dead you might as well cook it and eat it. Very Tasty actually ....

I would'nt be too hard on the kid, there is absolutely no harm in taking a fish home for the pot. Its not all about competitions, points , and rivalry sometimes it is quite nice to go out do some fishing, take a few home cook and eat them as long as its done in a sustainable fashion.........

Kaner a rock salmon is a spurdog.