An Oregon woman had an unexpected encounter with a rare and hefty monkeyface fish, a species she had never encountered before.
Rebecca Jones of Tillamook disclosed that she only recently delved into fishing and hunting, relying on self-taught knowledge gained from online videos.
The record for the largest monkeyface fish, weighing over 3 pounds, was set in New Port, Oregon, in 2008. Jones’s catch, weighing 4.8 pounds, potentially surpasses this record.
Officials explained that Jones initially ventured to Barview Jetty near Garibaldi with the intention of catching rockfish for dinner.
However, she was surprised to reel in a fish she had never seen before – the monkeyface prickleback, sometimes referred to as a “monkeyface eel,” although it’s not technically an eel.
These distinctive fish, capable of surviving over a day out of water, inhabit tidal and rocky environments.
Jones shared her experience, stating, “I’m relatively new to fishing and was losing bait off my line, but I kept at it. Within an hour of fishing, I felt another hit. It wasn’t a hard fight, the fish came right up. But it was a very strong fish though, I had to sit on it to get the hook out.”
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Jones has been honing her hunting skills for deer, elk, and bear over the past three years. This year, she’s ventured into spring turkey season to further test her abilities.
