A buddy in AK first introduced me to the term. It cracked me up then, and I shamelessly stole it, obviously. Here's one my buddy's son is holding at the fish plant he's working at on the Cape. That's a few pounds of the 35K pounds he and the others packed/processed that day. Handsome devils, ain't they? Thing is, in my experience, many of the fish deserving the Double Ugly designation are dynamite eating. I know there are lots of DUs caught by folks here, and I'd love to see some, if anyone's game.

Who can ID this one? Caught in local/north Atlantic waters.

Looks like a Ling cod from here.

Ling would be my first guess, but they are not an Atlantic species. Mung fish maybe?

That'd be a monkfish. Keep yo fingers outta its mouth. Good eating!

Winnah winnah, monkfish dinnah. Well done.

Goosefish. Supposed to eat well! Oops - ok - monkfish/goosefish, same critter!

I've posted this before, and its still an ugly fish.

I don't have a pic, but anyone who's icefished Lake of the Woods, Mille Lacs, or any number of other Northern Minnesota lakes knows full well what an eelpout looks like.

trimming the beard sure made jack look young again

Eelpout, you say?

Mmmmmmmm, burbot!! Taste like lobstah!

WHOA!

Another goodun'!

Good entry. What flavor are they?

+1!!

My little cutie with a big ugly bullhead. She caught it all by herself
(It was all I could do to keep from grabbing the rod out of her hands, though.)

Through 50" of ice, IIRC. A 7" head through a 6" hole. -20 in Feb when I lived in the 'banks.

lol on the rod grabbing comment. I've seen that movie with the wife. KEEP THAT LINE TIGHT! STOP REELING AGAINST THE DRAG! LIFT THAT TIP UP! YOU'RE GONNA' LOSE THAT FISH IF YOU DO THAT AGAIN!



Great pic BTW, bud. She's a super cutie.

Yah, I can see that the bugger's body is still bendy but the skin is already frosting up right smartly. Yep, that's some c-o-o-l temperature indeed!

I used to be a lot tougher!

Wow, it's like you were there listening. I think I said exactly what you wrote, 'ceptaybe not in that exact order.

And thanks. She's daddy's little girl for sure.

Green ling cod and black rock fish.

Catch


Cut

Cook

Blue Ling

you don't skin all that red meat off before cooking?

Nope. Doesn't taste strong, actually very mild. Blue color, or green, goes away as soon as it hits the skillet, grill, or oven.

Bo Pelini's brothers?

I do with oily fish such as bluefish, but not with others like striped bass. With bass the dark bands of meat are only slightly stronger in taste, but barely so IMO.

LOOK! I found Waldo!

Here's another candidate, maybe. Young feller's folks couldn't afford braces, obviously...

Ha! Here in the Great Lake State we call them lawyer fish. No idea where that came from.

Not ugly.


But he tasted good!

We always called the various brown rockfish "double uglies" while these...



...are Ling Cods. Great eating!

A member of the rock fish family that's not ugly is the Yellow Eye...



...also good eating!

Oh MY! I need to hook n cook some of those bad boys. I hear they're very tasty.

Thanks for the pics everyone!

[IMG]http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n29/birddown
/fish/wolffish.jpg[/IMG]







The black sea bass (two pics up) isn't what I'd consider to be ugly, but it is double freaky. Its claim to fame is this: it's a protogynous hermaphrodite. IOW, it changes sex in its lifetime. Bizarre, eh? Doesn't affect the taste, however. They're fantastic eating.

Thanks for sharing, those who did. Calkook, nice jobbie!

yep a monk fish.....they are actually an angler fish species....one of the few pics i can find showing the "lure"



ive got a book about the oceanic anglers that are free swimming in the dark zones of the ocean.....some of thoae would qualify for quadruple ugly

yep a monk fish.....they are actually an angler fish species....one of the few pics i can find showing the "lure"
[/quote]

Way cool. Also known locally as a 'goosefish', I believe. Sweet flesh with good texture. The Japanese consider the liver of the monkfish to be a delicacy (steamed or boiled, I believe). I've most likely had it, but can't recall specifically. My wife said that it's very good. I'll get some off my buddy and find out.

The wolffish, AKA a wolfeel, is also Highly prized for the table, but locally the fishery has been closed, due to concerns about the dwindling catch and overall population. Mean looking bastards, eh?

Reminds me I need to live close to the ocean sometime in my life.

chances are Leighton you have eaten monkfish before.....its one of the "poormans lobster" species that is actually all over the place but rarely under its own name in this country...ugly fish but tastes fine.....few would prolly eat it if they knew what it looked like which is likely why its identity gets "hidden" in the US....

chit read fast and missed you were talking bout the liver and not the meat.....

NP, and that is correct.

well when you get down here i promise pretty fish.

I appreciate that, but ain't holding my breath, I'm afraid.

STX: Yeah, we should get into some reds, sea trout, maybe XYZ, no problem...

Me: Sweet! Thanks brother.

Me, with my first fish of the trip, on my 5668th cast: 'Well he ain't big (thing was around 9" and tipped the scales at around 11 oz) but he's pretty. Say Roger, what do I have here?"

STX: "Huh? Uh, yeah, we call that a shyt shad. Say, any bugs left?"

Me: "Mr. Shyt Shad, I hereby dub thee Sir Baitfish"

On my second catch of the entire trip (thanks to Birdy screaming for me to get up, as s fish or two were being allegedly caught), on my 21335th cast, I brought in another fish. This one may have broken the holy grail-like one pound mark. I walk over to Roger and show him, and ask what kind of critter I had this time.

STX: "Oh, uh yeah that there's a ladyfish. Don't think I've ever seen one that small. Anyway, the Mexicans eat 'em but they ain't fit for much else. Poor man's tarpon, some call 'em. Any bugs left?"

Me: "I want to have it mounted. Where's the nearest fish taxidermist of good repute on this strech of beach?"

Because you can't get any enjoyment from being around them until they're dead?

Wink to SNO and Bob.

Actually wolf eel and wolffish are two very different species. Wolffish are very large in the head when compared to the body. They are also firmer meated and not nearly as "rich" or oily.

Not in my bacx yard, friend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_wolffish

Apologies for the Wiki cite but there are many others...


The Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus), also known as the seawolf, Atlantic catfish, ocean catfish, devil fish, wolf eel (the common name for its Pacific relative), or sea cat, is a marine fish, the largest of the wolffish family Anarhichadidae.

*****************************************************


Atlantic Wolf Fish

The Wolf Fish or Anarhichas lupus is at the southern edge of its range around the north-eastern coasts of the UK. In some areas it is known as the wolf eel, catfish or sea wolf. It can grow to over a metre in length and once mature, it adopts an unusual blue colour.

http://www.oceaneyephoto.com/gallery_150662.html