For a long time now, I have been trying to get a photograph of the teeth of a sheepshead. Either I forget when one is caught or the fish is too small to really show the teeth. Why, may you ask, do I wish to get a picture of a fish's teeth? Well, it is simply this. Sheepsheads have weird teeth and I am all about weird things! What makes this fish's teeth odd is the fact that they have front teeth that look a lot like human teeth and that freaks folks out a bit when they first notice it. In a large fish, it appears that the fish is wearing dentures! But the weirdness does not end there! Once you open the mouth of the fish, you find a whole slew of other teeth just waiting to crush a finger! Just a thought here...keep your fingers out of a sheepshead's mouth! Well, it would probably be a good idea to keep the fingers out of any fish's mouth...so just do it. The entire inner part of the mouth and down the throat a bit are lined with flat teeth that are used to crush shells. The fish feeds a lot on shellfish and crabs so it needs a way to get past the hard part. The shell is cracked and the inner soft part is devoured while the shell remnants are discarded That should give you an idea of the power involved in the workings of this mouth! Those blunt front teeth are used to snip barnacles off of pilings and such.
Mark caught a sheepshead in the net this morning so it gave me the perfect opportunity to photograph the teeth. He was patient enough to hold the fish for me and even got the mouth open so I could attempt an "inside" shot. This was really awkward as the fish has fins that are sharp spines. Come to think about it, the sheepshead is a pretty well armed fish! Lots of stabby, pointy spines and a mouth full of shell-crushing teeth.
Nowadays, it is hard to tell just who you can trust. People are often all sweet to your face but will turn against you given a half of chance. (Notice, I said "people" and not folks. Folks are honest. People, on the other hand, tend to get on my nerves.) To me, those being sneaky and underhanded, while being sugar-coated in your presence are lower than low. I am a pretty easy-going person and like to give people the benefit of the doubt but, when that "doubt" is blatantly obvious, something has to be done. Life would be easier if the "cheats" all had to wear prison stripes so they can be easily identified.
In the critter world, there is a fish that is known to be a thief. In fact, it even wears those prison stripes to proclaim itself as a crook and bears a nickname of Convict Fish. The Sheepshead can steal a bait sooner than you can shake a stick making fishing problematic, at times. You are not going to catch supper with an empty hook. Occasionally, however, the fish is caught and the tables are turned. Its thieving ways are over and it must pay the price. Karma is served up on a big platter. It is amazing how fishing can be related to all things in life. Keeping that in mind, it is easier to sit on the pier and while away the hours than deal with people. Go fishing. It clears the mind.
