Q: Anyone who has cleaned and examined the stomach contents of a wahoo has come across one of these critters. The wahoo I cleaned recently had two of them. What are they and how do they live in a harsh environment like the digestive tract of a fish? Are they harmful to the fish? And how does a pelagic fish like a wahoo encounter an internal parasite to begin with? - Scott Kerrigan, Wilton Manors, FloridaA: These are "giant stomach worms" of the genus Hirudinella, which reach sizes up to 8 inches long. I have seen them also in the stomachs of tunas caught in the Gulf of Mexico. Read More
Q: My, what big teeth this little feller has. I caught him with my daddy, who knows just about everything in the world except what kind of fish this one is. Can you help us? -Travis Clarke, Winter Park, FloridaA: Indeed, this fish has some formidable teeth. This little guy is an inshore lizardfish, Synodus foetens, and if you ever saw one of these explode from the sand to snatch a small, passing anchovy or glass minnow, you'd know why the dental work is so impressive. Lizardfish are classic "ambush predators" unable to sustain a chase. Read More