[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

NFC: Re: Fw: sheep's head



A "sheep's head" looks basically like a very large convict.  Did the fish
resemble a convict at all?  Cichlid or sunfish shape, dark colors, maybe
vertical black stripes with silver backdrop.  I have only heard of sheep
head in salt water...the Gulf is full of them.  They have teeth that look
like human teeth (well...sheep teeth which is how they got the name) that I
believe if for eating crustations and barnacles.  I've seen them school with
Redfish by the hundreds...unfortunately they wouldn't bite on anything while
schooling like that.  I'd be surprised if a fish that schools with Redfish
would care for it's young (since Redfish will eat anything that fits in its
mouth alive or dead).

The eye and whiskers don't make sense then in the case of a sheep head.
Redfish however do have a false eye and possibly very short whiskers if I
can remember right.  But they have a light colored body, reddish towards the
top.  They live in salt and brackish water and get VERY large.  They're a
very aggressive gamefish as well.  Aggressive gamefish don't typically care
for their young do they?  I don't know.

Probably didn't help a bit...
Larry

> I'm helping with amphibian research in Ward Marsh which is next to the
> Poultney River which feeds into Lake Champlain in the state of Vermont.
> Two days ago I was walking along the edge of the marsh after collecting
> data on amphibians when I saw a large dark mass near the shore.  When I
> got closer I saw that it was a large group of fry that where swimming in
> a protective mass.  There might have been a thousand of them or at least
> hundreds.  I then notice that there was a large fish that was with
> them.  Mother?  Father?  This fish was over 2 feet long and had a blunt
> head with short whiskers which she pointed ahead of her.  There was a
> large false eye on her tail and the pectoral fins where a wonderful neon
> powder bluish color.  I don't notice much if any dorsal fin.  The young
> swam around and under her for protection.  The mother didn't wish to
> swim into deeper water, I would guess since there was more danger of
> perdition in that location.  Might you know what this fish is?  I was
> told that a local name for it was Sheep's Head.
>
> David Cunningham


Follow-Ups: References: