# Help Identifying a Small Fish



## Naby (Jan 18, 2009)

Any ideas what this is? It looks like some type of small jack. A friend caught it from his kayak.


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## Aquahollic (Sep 24, 2009)

It looks like a Leatherjacket fish. They have some SHARP spines on them.

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


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

Something your friend shouldn't be handling.... Shoemaker, crazy fish.... seen people swell up when stung/stuck by them.


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## BlackJeep (Jun 13, 2010)

Yeah that is a leatherjacket. They don't seem to stay alive very long.


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## Rockntroll (Oct 2, 2007)

They suck as bait too. Tried dragging them behind my yak in the gulf and never had anything hit them. Tons of them around the Navarre pier


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Spiny little jerks. I tried using them for tarpon a few years ago when I couldn't find any other bait and actually had 2 tarpon come up on them and delicately mouth them. I had one tarpon grab it about 20 times and couldn't get hooked up. When I reeled it in the leatherjacket it had very little skin left on it from where the 80-90lb poon had mouthed it trying to see if it was edible.

I hate leatherjackets


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## Naby (Jan 18, 2009)

I'm pretty sure I've seen them before, I just didn't know a name for them although crazy fish sounds familiar. They look like they'd be good bait, I guess fish know better. Thanks for all the replies.


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## bigrick (Sep 29, 2010)

Wirelessly posted

Probably the worst thing you can use for bait


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## wetley49 (Sep 25, 2010)

I got poked by a small one while trying to get it out of a cast net. My finger swelled up like I had been stung by a bee


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## nathan70 (Jul 12, 2011)

Thats what we always called them was crazy fish and yes it sucks to get stuck by them. I have caught a net full of them before.


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## bimini (Apr 14, 2011)

*Leatherjacket*

Had one stick my finger Friday night. Where its fin poked my finger it began to bleed immediately and felt exactly like a wasp sting. Didn't swell very bad, but it's still sore today. They suck as bait in my book.


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## OBsession (Feb 13, 2008)

*That's Bad News*

Yeah, it a leatherjacket or a 'crazy fish". Bad news, they have spines that once hit you inject a poison that burns bad for a while. Handle very carefully or not at all. the spines are just behind the anal fin


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