Devil Fish

This post has been a long time coming! I cannot believe it has been almost  three months since I blogged. Everything has been crazy busy. So it's been aaaaaaaaaages since I last posted... I am sorry! I've been a bit up and down lately, I've been working whilst trying to find a new house to move into. Anyway, enough about that, its been quite sunny lately over here in Guern land and the weather really did pick up last week so we decided to head out west and do some diving...  

Instead of the usual line.
"you should of seen the one that got away"
Stu will be saying.
"You should of seen the one I got away from"

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but even fish scientists agree that the bottom-dwelling Angler fish may be one of the least attractive creatures that swims off the coast .


Moving onto a slightly less attractive creature....
(My diving buddy)


Man vs. Monk fish/Angler fish

The result was a 10-minute battle to the death with a (27-lb), 1 metre (40-inch) fish armed with a massive mouth full of long, pointed teeth.

Recovering after his fight
with the beast

Stu was shaken long after his ordeal, which started when the 36 year-old was out diving with colleagues on the West coast.  He encountered the beast at about 25 metres deep. He made the sudden decision to try and capture the fish using a hand spear and stabbed it between the eyes, without getting the expected effect.

 "Then it flashed a wicked smile before returning for a second look and started to try and eat me. That was when I started having regrets, he said"...

Attacks on divers are rare, yet it's important to remain vigilant when dealing with toothy predators like this Angler fish.

The Curse is over after numerous dives and fishing trips  coming up short handed, finally Stu and I ended what we would like to call “The Curse”. After the classically dramatic man vs fish battle, the diver was finally able to boat the beast. I took my life in my hands and measured and officially weighed the devil fish at 27lbs 8oz.
Another great morning out diving 4 sole, 5 turbot, 2 brill and one very pissed off Angler fish. Brave man Mr Tucker for taking that thing on in it's own environment after a little assistance from yours truly..

woooh!!!
 Looks like it's got a right monk on!