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October 20, 2005 - Not just another pretty faceThe Suffolk Times • October 20, 2005. 13A This is a five - inch -long young toadfish. Fully grown it will get to over a foot long. Toadfish are creatures of our shallow bays and creeks. The one word that describes them best is 'ugly.' Not just another pretty face WHEN WE WERE KIDS there wasn't much that we thought we couldn't do; at least that's what we believed. We'd prove it by diving off the high- est boat or the biggest bridge. We'd see who could stay under water the longest, who could swim underwater the farthest. When we went fishing, we always caught the biggest ON fish, at least that was the story told to those who would listen. You name it, and we'd be there to prove to everyone our manhood or something like that. I'm sure many of you went through the same kind of shenani- gans. To this day, I'm not sure just what it was we were trying to prove; looking back, I guess it was all to give the impression that we were no longer little kids. But then one day when we went fishing we all lost our credibility as being the toughest, the bravest and the best. We watched in horror as someone brought aboard a big, croaking toadfish. We usually could handle our fish, grab hold of it and get the hook out. Why, we could even tackle a big, old, slimy eel, although they took a bit more time. This was something strange and gruesome. It had a huge, wide mouth, a flat head, a row of glistening, sharp teeth just inside that big, whiskered mouth, and those big, protruding eyes; they seemed to tell us this mon- ster that just trawled out of a horror movie would get us if we fooled with him. As we watched in horror, someone said in a sheepish voice, "Who's go- ing to take the hook out of that slimy thing?" A dead, eerie silence took over the boat. No one was going near that thing. Someone poked it with an oar. It grunted and went into a series of tail wagging and more grunting, all of which reinforced our position of "No way are any of us going to even get near that thing!" And that was how I was introduced to our na- tive toadfish. We solved the problem, although the solution was never discussed with any- one outside our inner cir- cle. We simply cut the fish line, leaving the hook still imbedded in that monster's mouth, and dropped it overboard. Funny, no one ever brought up the subject again. As time went by and we all real- ized there was no need to play the game of being the best, I started to become better acquainted with Mr. Toadfish. When I went crabbing in our creeks, I'd meet up with his kind in an old rusty tin can, where you saw only part of him; the rest of him was inside the nest — we hardly ever saw his whole, camouflaged body, which was often covered with sedi- ment to blend in with the silted bot- tom. In those early days before our creeks were dredged, I spent lots of time wading with my crab net ready for Mr. Blue Claw. Like oth- ers, I knew the favorite spots to get crabs, and there was even a special spot where you would find soft crabs. These soft crabs got a special place in the washtub I pulled behind me. The softies would be covered with seaweed to keep them moist and away from those thrashing claws of the hard crabs. It was on those crabbing ventures that I'd spot Mr. Toadfish at the mouth of his den. Sometimes I'd find him tucked away under an old, waterlogged plank, or some rock or other debris. Later on I'd find out his hiding place, where only the two big, bulging eyes could be seen. It was Focus NATURE by Paul Stoutenburgh Catch Paul Stoutenburgh every week in TIMES /REVIEW NEWSPAPERS. here he patiently waited in ambush for some unsuspecting killie or small crab to pass by. Then with one quick gulp, the mouth would open and close on the victim like a snap trap. I also found out that these hide- aways were used by the female to lay her big, quarter -inch egg, which she attached to the sides of the den. Once the hundred or so eggs were secure, the female toadfish would leave the maternity ward to Mr. Toad- fish to care for. It's during this time of "bringing up baby" that Mr. This was Toadfish is most aggressive and something could be a prob- Strange and lem if bare feet gruesome. come too close to his hiding place. I mentioned that when we as kids caught a toadfish it made a grunting sound; this ability to make sounds is also used by the male to attract a female during the mating season. People living on boats have reported hearing toadfish calls so loud that they had to move. These, and I must say ugly -look- ing, fish are found from Maine to the West Indies all along our Atlantic seaboard. Usually they are found in shallow water, which accounts for why we see them occasionally right here in our creeks. Probably the time most people come in contact with the toadfish is when they go fishing. Always looking for a meal, the toad- fish will eat just about anything that fits in its mouth, including the fisher- man's bait.They are devilish things to get off your hook and probably, just as we kids did way back when, the fisherman merely cuts the hook off and throws the toadfish back in, hook and all. Scientists have found there are certain parts of our ear that are simi- lar to the ear of the toadfish. Know- ing this, the scientific community was anxious to study the toadfish in space, so NASA took two of Woods Hole's toadfish to go along on John Glenn's historic return to space. Hopefully, through experiments aboard the space ship and back at Woods Hole, scientists will be able to study problems of motion sickness, balance, equilibrium and others. So you see that as much as we dislike the looks and actions of our toadfish, they perhaps will help us all in the future. CALVERTON FUEL OIL Spring All OJT he Norlb Fork • Automatic Delivery • Kerosene Ca" for prices . Diesel Fuel • Discounts for Large Quantities l�f! Burner Service Available Walter & Ed Hodun Jr. Proprietors Prices Subject to Ch nge Wirhnut Warning 631 - 727 -6479 We accept all Major Credit Cards 1111111=911 yX `� •� _ t h� 4. d , Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoulenbwph This is a five - inch -long young toadfish. Fully grown it will get to over a foot long. Toadfish are creatures of our shallow bays and creeks. The one word that describes them best is 'ugly.' Not just another pretty face WHEN WE WERE KIDS there wasn't much that we thought we couldn't do; at least that's what we believed. We'd prove it by diving off the high- est boat or the biggest bridge. We'd see who could stay under water the longest, who could swim underwater the farthest. When we went fishing, we always caught the biggest ON fish, at least that was the story told to those who would listen. You name it, and we'd be there to prove to everyone our manhood or something like that. I'm sure many of you went through the same kind of shenani- gans. To this day, I'm not sure just what it was we were trying to prove; looking back, I guess it was all to give the impression that we were no longer little kids. But then one day when we went fishing we all lost our credibility as being the toughest, the bravest and the best. We watched in horror as someone brought aboard a big, croaking toadfish. We usually could handle our fish, grab hold of it and get the hook out. Why, we could even tackle a big, old, slimy eel, although they took a bit more time. This was something strange and gruesome. It had a huge, wide mouth, a flat head, a row of glistening, sharp teeth just inside that big, whiskered mouth, and those big, protruding eyes; they seemed to tell us this mon- ster that just trawled out of a horror movie would get us if we fooled with him. As we watched in horror, someone said in a sheepish voice, "Who's go- ing to take the hook out of that slimy thing?" A dead, eerie silence took over the boat. No one was going near that thing. Someone poked it with an oar. It grunted and went into a series of tail wagging and more grunting, all of which reinforced our position of "No way are any of us going to even get near that thing!" And that was how I was introduced to our na- tive toadfish. We solved the problem, although the solution was never discussed with any- one outside our inner cir- cle. We simply cut the fish line, leaving the hook still imbedded in that monster's mouth, and dropped it overboard. Funny, no one ever brought up the subject again. As time went by and we all real- ized there was no need to play the game of being the best, I started to become better acquainted with Mr. Toadfish. When I went crabbing in our creeks, I'd meet up with his kind in an old rusty tin can, where you saw only part of him; the rest of him was inside the nest — we hardly ever saw his whole, camouflaged body, which was often covered with sedi- ment to blend in with the silted bot- tom. In those early days before our creeks were dredged, I spent lots of time wading with my crab net ready for Mr. Blue Claw. Like oth- ers, I knew the favorite spots to get crabs, and there was even a special spot where you would find soft crabs. These soft crabs got a special place in the washtub I pulled behind me. The softies would be covered with seaweed to keep them moist and away from those thrashing claws of the hard crabs. It was on those crabbing ventures that I'd spot Mr. Toadfish at the mouth of his den. Sometimes I'd find him tucked away under an old, waterlogged plank, or some rock or other debris. Later on I'd find out his hiding place, where only the two big, bulging eyes could be seen. It was Focus NATURE by Paul Stoutenburgh Catch Paul Stoutenburgh every week in TIMES /REVIEW NEWSPAPERS. here he patiently waited in ambush for some unsuspecting killie or small crab to pass by. Then with one quick gulp, the mouth would open and close on the victim like a snap trap. I also found out that these hide- aways were used by the female to lay her big, quarter -inch egg, which she attached to the sides of the den. Once the hundred or so eggs were secure, the female toadfish would leave the maternity ward to Mr. Toad- fish to care for. It's during this time of "bringing up baby" that Mr. This was Toadfish is most aggressive and something could be a prob- Strange and lem if bare feet gruesome. come too close to his hiding place. I mentioned that when we as kids caught a toadfish it made a grunting sound; this ability to make sounds is also used by the male to attract a female during the mating season. People living on boats have reported hearing toadfish calls so loud that they had to move. These, and I must say ugly -look- ing, fish are found from Maine to the West Indies all along our Atlantic seaboard. Usually they are found in shallow water, which accounts for why we see them occasionally right here in our creeks. Probably the time most people come in contact with the toadfish is when they go fishing. Always looking for a meal, the toad- fish will eat just about anything that fits in its mouth, including the fisher- man's bait.They are devilish things to get off your hook and probably, just as we kids did way back when, the fisherman merely cuts the hook off and throws the toadfish back in, hook and all. Scientists have found there are certain parts of our ear that are simi- lar to the ear of the toadfish. Know- ing this, the scientific community was anxious to study the toadfish in space, so NASA took two of Woods Hole's toadfish to go along on John Glenn's historic return to space. Hopefully, through experiments aboard the space ship and back at Woods Hole, scientists will be able to study problems of motion sickness, balance, equilibrium and others. So you see that as much as we dislike the looks and actions of our toadfish, they perhaps will help us all in the future. CALVERTON FUEL OIL Spring All OJT he Norlb Fork • Automatic Delivery • Kerosene Ca" for prices . Diesel Fuel • Discounts for Large Quantities l�f! Burner Service Available Walter & Ed Hodun Jr. Proprietors Prices Subject to Ch nge Wirhnut Warning 631 - 727 -6479 We accept all Major Credit Cards 1111111=911 October 20, 2005 • The News -nevi another WHEN WE WERE KIDS there wasn' much that we thought we couldn't do; at least that's what we believed. We'd prove it by diving off the high- est boat or the biggest bridge. We'd see .who could stay under water the longest, who could swim underwater the farthest. When we went fishing, we always caught the biggest fish, at least that was the story told to those who would listen. You name it, and we'd be there to prove to everyone our manhood or something like that. I'm sure many of you went through the same kind of shenani- gans. To this day, I'm not sure just what it was we were trying to prove; looking back, I guess it was all to give the impression that we were no longer little kids. But then one day when we went fishing we all lost our credibility as being the toughest, the bravest and the best. We watched in horror as someone brought aboard a big, croaking toadfish. We usually could handle our fish, grab hold of it and get the hook out. Why, we could even tackle a big, old, slimy eel, although they took a bit more time. This was something strange and gruesome. It had a huge, wide mouth, a flat head, a row of glistening, sharp teeth just inside that big, whiskered mouth, and those big, protruding eyes; they seemed to-tell us this mon- ster that just crawled out of a horror movie would get us if we fooled with him. As we watched in horror, someone said in a sheepish voice, "Who's go- ine to take the hook out of that slimv N]must t re ace This is a five - inch -long young toadfish. Fully grown it will get to over a foot I thing ? "A dead, eerie silence took over the boat. No one was going new that thing. Someone poked it with an oar. It grunted and went into a series of tail wagging and more grunting, all of which reinforced our position of "No way are any of us going to even get near that Focus thing!" And that was how I ,N was introduced to our na- tive toadfish. V AT u R E We solved the problem, although the solution was by Paul never discussed with any - Stoutenburgh one outside our inner cir- cle. We simply cut the fish line, leaving the hook still imbedded in that monster's mouth, and dropped it overboard. Funny, no one ever brought up the subject again. As time went by and we all real- ized there was no need to play the game of being the best, I started to become better acquainted with Mr. Toadfish. When I went crabbing in our creeks, I'd meet up with his kind in an old rusty tin can, where you saw only part of him; the rest of him was inside the nest = we hardly ever saw his whole, camouflaged body, which was often covered with sedi- ment to blend in with the silted bot- tom. In those early days before our creeks were dredged, I spent lots of time wading with my crab net ready for Mr. Blue Claw. Like oth- ers, I knew the favorite spots to get crabs, and there was even a special spot where you would find soft crabs. These soft crabs got a special place in the washtub I pulled behind me. The softies would be covered with seaweed to keep them moist and away from those thrashing claws of the hard crabs. It was on those crabbing ventures that I'd spot Mr. Toadfish at the mouth of his den. Sometimes I'd find him tucked away under an old, waterlogged plank, or some rock or other debris. Later on I'd find out his hiding place, where only the two big, bulging eyes could be seen. It. was here he patiently waited in ambush for some unsuspecting killie or small crab to pass by. Then with one quick gulp, the mouth would open and close on the victim like a snap trap. I also found out that these hide- aways were used by the female to lay her big, quarter -inch egg, which she attached to the sides of the den. Once the hundred or so eggs were secure, the female toadfish would leave the maternity ward to Mr. Toad- fish to care for. It's during this time of "bringing up baby" that Mr. This Was Toadfish is most aggressive and , something could be a prob- strange and lem if bare feet come too close to gruesome. -ws- review pnoto by t3arbara Stoutenburgh or Toadfish are creatures of our shallow bays and creeks. The one word that them best is ugly.' mentnonea .tnat wnen we as xicis caught a toadfish it made a grunting sound; this ability to make sounds is also used by the male to attract a female during the mating season. People living on boats have reported hearing toadfish calls so loud that they had to move. These, and I must say ugly -look- ing, fish are found from Maine to the West Indies all along our Atlantic seaboard. Usually they are found in shallow water, which accounts for why we see them occasionally right here in our creeks. Probably the time most people come in contact with the toadfish is when they go fishing. Always looking for a meal, the toad- fish will eat just about anything that fits in its mouth, including the fisher- man's bait. They are devilish things to get off your hook and probably, just as we kids did way back when, the fisherman merely cuts the hook off and throws the toadfish back in, hook and all. Scientists have found there are certain parts of our ear that are simi- lar to the ear of the toadfish. Know- ing this, the scientific community was anxious to study the toadfish in space, so NASA took two of Woods Hole's toadfish to go along on John Glenn's historic return to space. Hopefully, through experiments aboard the space ship and back at Woods Hole, scientists will be able to study problems of motion sickness, balance, equilibrium and others. So you see that as much as we dislike the looks and acti6t.s of our toadfish, they perhaps will help us all in the