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Someone posted on the St marks sandbar facebook group that something bit them and posted this picture.

Call me crazy but that surely looks like the triangle shaped "beak" of a pufferfish and based on how crazy those things are...

Another reason to hate them.

Can they open their jaws that wide? Seems like if they wanted to bite someone there wouldn't be much flesh left.

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Seems possible, bite looks similar, but I’m not sure if they have bottom teeth. What I’m really surprised about is that there is a st marks sandbar Facebook page

Agree with the rest of you, looks like a puffer bite. They can be aggressive, I’ve seen them bully and take a stab at sheepshead.


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Salty Gator wrote: ↑May 21st, 2021, 1:54 pm Seems possible, bite looks similar, but I’m not sure if they have bottom teeth. What I’m really surprised about is that there is a st marks sandbar Facebook page

It's actually a good way to find out the real conditions since people regularly post while out at the sandbar. It's one of the better local FB groups.

OK, I'll say it. Do people still use Facebook?

DEMON wrote:OK, I'll say it. Do people still use Facebook?

Quite a bit more than forums.

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PhishingNole wrote:

DEMON wrote:OK, I'll say it. Do people still use Facebook?

Quite a bit more than forums.

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I've caught three Smooth Puffers this spring - this is bad but I just cut the line with the last two - I don't want to leave tackle out there but on the other hand no way I want to come close to touching those things!

Are they a non-native invasive species. What I mean is, should I bash them with a bat?

guthooked wrote: ↑May 24th, 2021, 10:22 am Are they a non-native invasive species. What I mean is, should I bash them with a bat?

Native - yes. Invasive...doubtful, as that would imply they are having some sort of impact on other species. Annoying Nusciance...100%. Bashing them, even in mass, won't really have an impact on the resource or species as a whole. But if they are frustrating the heck of ya, bashing may cause a decrease in blood pressure...but I'm no doctor!

While fishing the St Marks Refuge last weekend, I had to shoo a big one away that kept following me and harrassing the trout on a stringer that I had tied to my kayak. I got out for a minute to wadefish (with kayak in tow) and the puffer kept circling me like a horsefly with fins. Never had this happen before. I sure hope they are not proliferating at wacko pace.

Been fishing the St Marks area for 15 years and have always caught a few spiny puffers but only in the last two years have I been catching the smooth skin SOB's.

There have been regular sightings since 2015, but last year was the first time I had seen one. http://www.saltwateranglersguide.com/?p=5808

Luckily I didn't any smooth puffers in Cedar Key this weekend and just one spiny one.

GaryDroze wrote: ↑May 24th, 2021, 3:40 pm and the puffer kept circling me like a horsefly with fins. Never had this happen before. I sure hope they are not proliferating at wacko pace.

You need to start carrying some heat to keep those things away!

Are y’all catching the puffers on live bait? We’ve been fishing the refuge every weekend since March ( too windy to get offshore) and haven’t caught a single one. Plenty of reds and trout, but no trash fish.