Editorial from ANGLING, Written by anglers for anglers - May 1955. Price: 1/6d
AN AUSTRALIAN SEA-SERPENT
by Edward Samuel
OARFISH, ribbon fish, sea-serpents, whatever you like to call them, have been invading Australia's eastern coastline both last winter and this, in hitherto unheard of numbers. I remember the report of one landed off the Scottish coast, but recently the unexpected happened within the sheltered waters of Sydney Harbour. A 12-ft sea-serpent was caught on a handline at Balmoral beach, well up from the Heads, by a man fishing for flathead. He was much upset when he felt a tug on his line and a long replica of the Loch Ness monster surfaced.
The serpentine fish was pale grey with a nasty, vicious head, large eyes and no scales. In this uncanny-looking head were two 2-ft feelers. From the top of the head to tail, over twelve feet, was a 2-inch red crest of slender spines. The fisherman, Keith McCrae, commented that when fishing he expected anything to get on his line from shark to porpoise, but this apparition, as he put it, "fairly rocked him". McCrae stated that the queer fish did not struggle as much as a 6-foot shark.
Measured, its overall length was 12 feet, and it was identified as an oarfish. Specimens have been caught and washed ashore on Australian coasts measuring up to 40-feet in length. I have always had faith in the appearance of the Loch Ness monster, and, after a close up of this oarfish, I am confident that the various annual August reports are no hallucination.
Away out in the great depths of the high seas something is stirring the oarfish into unusual activity. The Balmoral catch is only one incident in a story that really stretches back over the last few months -- and applies to half the eastern coast of Australia.
The first report of it came from coastal Tasmania. There a number of oarfish were left stranded by the sea, causing some excitement. One big specimen was caught near Portsea, in Victoria. It was not surprising, therefore, to hear of the Sydney catch. It is possible that others will turn up here before long. The curious feature about this phenomenon is that it appears to be a repetition of a similar happening last year, when many oarfish were also reported.
As a rule we hear of these rare visitors only one at a time, and perhaps once in years. Science has no precise evidence of what it is that causes these fish to rise to the surface from inky depths, though it is probably strong winter influences sweeping in from the Antarctic, or other kinds of submarine disturbances. There are happening for down in Father Neptune's realm that we know little about, which it is near impossible for us to investigate. When speaking of ribbon fish, we also mean sea-serpents for oarfish, because this is one sea creature that is believed to have given rise to ancient mariners' tales.
Named by ichthyologists Regalecus, it is called ribbon-fish because of its ribbon-like shape, being very thin through the body. Another name is oarfish, referring to the oar-like tip of the long fin-appendages beneath the body. At any rate these facts must surely console some of those good people who have been ridiculed for their Loch Ness monster reports, for a 40ft oarfish surfacing at intervals would justify any tale.
Bygone Times Re-visited
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- Stour Otter
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Re: Bygone Times Re-visited
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The good angler is not the one with expensive equipment. Common sense, observation and trying to realize
what is happening above and below water will catch fish no matter what price equipment you fish with.
L.A. Parker - This Fishing 1948
what is happening above and below water will catch fish no matter what price equipment you fish with.
L.A. Parker - This Fishing 1948
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Re: Bygone Times Re-visited
I can only imagine the face of an angler seeing an oarfish surface in front of him. They are bizarre but beautiful creatures and I would dearly love to see one in the wild. Alas, they only seem to come close to shore when close to death.
An enjoyable read and my dream refreshed.
An enjoyable read and my dream refreshed.
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