25 Creepiest Creatures Caught While Fishing

Thresher sharks average about 700 lbs, but a fisherman out in Cornwall, England caught a 32 ft, 1,250 lb thresher shark, the largest ever caught. We’ll stay clear of that one, thank you very much!

Considered a delicacy around the world, ocean sunfish usually swim in tropical or temperate waters and can get up to 2,000 pounds. This sunfish was caught by W. N. McMillan in 1910, and the weight was estimated to be 3,500 pounds.

These alien-looking creatures are called Mantis Shrimp. Most only grow to about 3 inches, but Steve Bargeron caught a massive 18 inch long mantis shrimp.

In 1913, JKL Ross caught a 680-pound tuna with just a rod and a line in Nova Scotia.

Accidently caught off the coast of Caleta la Cruz in Peru, fisherman reeled in a massive 2,200-pound manta ray in April 2015.

Seahorses are generally tiny, measuring on average around 0.6 inches long. Now, imagine the surprise of the British fishermen that caught a 14-inch seahorse near Poole Harbour, Dorset.

Oarfish are incredibly rare sea creatures. By the look of it, we’d imagine it would be a deadly sea monster, but it’s mostly harmless. Off the coast of San Diego, California, Navy Seals found a 300 pound, 23-foot Oarfish.

Living about 3,200 feet down in the Antarctic ocean, the Ocellated Icefish is a weird fish, primarily because it’s the only known creature in the world to have clear blood.

This beautiful bluefish was caught by Roman Fedorstov out on a fishing boat in northwest Russia. It’s similarities to a dinosaur are striking.

Like something straight out of the movie Alien, a Singaporean fisherman found a live creature with dozens of arms wiggling and squirming on his boat, easily giving anyone the chills. What the fisherman caught is called a Basket Star, a close relative to the starfish. Its arms continue to grow, expand, and replicate, helping it catch prey.

A giant fish with razor sharp teeth that’s known to eat crocodiles and humans is the Goliath Tigerfish. Fisherman Jeremy Wade spent eight days trying to snag one. He finally caught one in the Congo; it came in at 5 ft long and 100-pounds.

These creepy bottom dwellers are called Giant Isopods and can get up to 14 inches in length. Though they mostly eat whatever falls to the ocean floor, they are also carnivorous and eat slower ocean creatures.

In 2011, a man caught a record breaking 327-pound alligator gar in Vicksburg, Miss., measuring at 8 feet, 5 inches long, looking more like an ancient dinosaur than an alligator or a fish. We may think twice before going near the Mississippi River!

A fisherman out in Nova Scotia pulled out a green-eyed looking monster, unsure at first what it was at all. Little did he know, he caught a Knifenose Chimaera, a creature very similar to a shark.

Off the island of Hokkaido, a fisherman caught an extremely big wolffish. Most wolffish measure around 40 inches but this fisherman caught a whopping 70-inch wolffish. Some worried its size was a result of Fukushima’s radiation leak, but scientists assured everyone that the leak had nothing to do with the size. It’s just a really big fish.

Like something out of Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, a group of fishermen found an extraordinary squid in Antarctica. Measuring at 30 feet, colossal squids are rare finds especially out in the wild. Usually, scientists or fishermen find them inside larger whales.

Marine biologist Nick Wegner caught this massive orange Opah fish, also known as moonfish. We can’t decide whether a fish that size is cute or terrifying.

An ancient species of fish that once swam with the dinosaurs, the Sea Lamprey is a jawless fish and looks a lot like an eel. Technically, they’re parasites and feed on the blood of their victims. So, basically, our worst nightmare.

A Remora, also known as a Shark Sucker, looks like someone stomped a boot on its head. But, that groove on their head is actually their sucking disc that they use to attach to sharks and other sea creatures to gain rides.

Caught by Roman Fedorstov, this slimy and disgusting creature is called Malacosteus Niger, a fish that can be found all over the world from tropical locations to the subarctic.

We don’t know exactly what this thing is, but we’re calling it a clear abomination if we’ve ever seen one. It was also caught by Roman Fedorstov, but we’re kind of wishing he’d never found it at all. It’s definitely going to haunt us for some time.

Another creepy creature caught by Roman Fedorstov, we’re not sure what kind of fish it is, but we’re definitely not going anywhere near it.

The Pacific Viperfish is one of those fish we wish we didn’t know existed. With massive teeth that they impale their victims with at high speeds, its not a fish to tangle with. Fortunately for humans, we rarely see these out in the wild as they swim deep in the ocean.

This is a terrifying angle of a weird creature that some believe could be a Chimaera Shark, a deep sea creature rarely seen in the wild.

An eel-like creature found scattered in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Frilled Shark is mostly terrifying for its many razor sharp teeth. It hovers in the ocean and strikes its prey like a snake. Fortunately, humans rarely see it in its natural habitat as it swims in incredibly deep waters.

Looking for more creepy things from the water? Check out 25 Most Terrifying Deep Sea Creatures