What the ?#$%@& is this?
 

A friend of mine pulled this up holding on to his bait while fishing in Barnegat bay last weekend. What the hell is it? (I already yelled at him for the crappy pic)



http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/c...905091014a.jpg

Appears to be a type of mantis shrimp.

http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Mantis_Shrimp_Tony.jpg

I am sure someone will post the recipe in a few :) Looks like good eating !

LOL, first thing I asked was "what did it taste like?" he threw it back though.

appears like you are correct...just found this from a bait and tackle shop in NJ that had one brought in and researched it.

http://www.scottsbt.com/fishids/critters/mantis.htm

That is 100% without a doubt a mantis shrimp. Down here in the low country we call them "shrimp mammies" and it is one of the best redfish baits you can get your hands on.

Usually catch them in the shrimp nets or cast nets(rare) and be careful because they will bite/spur/pinch the sh!t out of you!

And they do taste good too!!

Close enough, we have a winner. I don't know if I could eat that thing though, looks a bit narly.

yea...my friend had me laughing, he said that thing hit the deck and took off like the Alien in the movie when it ripped out of the guys stomach and hit the floor!...scared the bejeezus out of them - Gnarly to say the least

One night gigging, I picked up over a half a dozen (with the gig, they were that big).
Boiled, the taste is between a Rock Shrimp and a regular Shrimp.