Capri Connection: What kind of fish is that?

“What kind of fish is that?” is the name of an original song written and sung by the late Stan Goober of Goodland.

Goober’s song is so well-known to locals and visitors alike that it is not unusual to hear the first line of his lyrics, “What kind of fish is that and where did you catch it at?” being sung often. Although Goober passed away on June 18, 2012 at the age of 86, his songs and jokes heard at Stan’s Idle Hour remain strong among Islanders.

These lyrics were definitely recalled last week when Grace Coleman, a 10-year old landed a strange-looking fish that appeared to have wings and legs while fishing behind her grandparent’s home on Isles of Capri.

“Help, bring the net!” yelled the young Coleman as she reeled as hard as she could only to bring up what no one could identify at the moment. After a few quick photos, the strange-looking creature was let go back into the water leaving all who witnessed puzzled.

A quick trip to the computer was in order to try and identify the fish that appeared to have legs, wings, and a strange head and face. The top side was spotted, spiny and brown; the underside was pale and almost pig skin smooth looking. After over an hour of surfacing strange fish photos of species in Gulf and bay waters of Southwest Florida, it was decided that it looked more like a Sea Robin than any of the other suspected fish. Oyster toad, lizard fish, dog fish were among the other guesses made before finally deciding that it must have been one of the many varieties of Sea Robins.

Keep in mind that this has not been confirmed by an official Florida Fish and Wildlife staff member, but, “It sounds like a Sea Robin by your description,” said Jeff Smith, who is a local charter fisherman after the story was shared with him.

Some of the many facts found among the websites of Florida Fish and Wildlife, Wikipedia and others point out that there are a wide variety of Sea Robins. In this area, they are found in shallow waters mainly on sandy bottoms of bays and lagoons. They are sometimes buried in the sand, and appear to be more active at night. They use their lower spines of Pectoral fins like feet to feel for invertebrates.  Juveniles are found in estuaries, such as the Isles of Capri, and they feed primarily on shrimp and worms.

The heads of Sea robins are heavily armored with spines, and they have separate soft spiny rays on their bellies near their pectoral fins that act like legs as they walk along the bottom of the waters using their “legs” to undercover crustaceans in the sand.

The children who caught the fish were right to be cautious.  It was learned that Sea Robins have poisonous spines on their backs and by the fight they put up on the catch, the Sea Robin also appears to be quite capable of being aggressive.  The Sea Robin is edible, but because of the many bony plates covering part of its body, it is more often considered a nuisance fish by Florida fishermen.

Contact Ann Hall at ahall7911@coconuttele.net