Your WORST NIGHTMARE !

[kingyfisher]

Imagine,if you will a fish common on the Eastern Coast of Australia, a very strong wonderful sportsfish , readily available to anglers from the shore or piers,growing to 2' long and over 10lbs. They are rarely fished for are voracious feeders and eat most anything including bread.
Oh and yes the flesh is a white clean tasty delicious fillet.
Furthermore they are never targeted by pro fishermen.
They belong to the family Acanthuridae related to Surgeonfishes such as the colourful "Blue Tang" beloved of acquarists ,the Sawtail is also more closely related to the Unicornfishes,Moorish Idols & Rabbitfishes ,so what is wrong with Prionurus microlepidotus?
It has skin like a Shark the small rough scales (except for the tail , thus the common name 'Surgeon', but thereby hangs a tail....) is very tough and thick like leather.
Dorsal spines run the total length to the tail ,anal & pectoral fins are also razor sharp.
Tail 'Scutes' or modified tail scales project outwards from 2 lines of 5/6 rows , they are scalpel sharp and slice through skin like a hot knife thru butter.
The mouth though small (max size 8 to 10 hooks) is lined with teeth similar to the teeth of a hacksaw (ie

[kingyfisher]

That is small sharp and saw like they can cut quality 30 lb Flourocarbon Japanese traces with teeth or tail scutes.
Finally they are quite visible even in deep water and strong currents 30' & 3knts if you know how to feed them. They strike VERY hard and run at blistering speed into cover.
They sound like the ideal Sportfish ,common ,big ,accessible,hard fighting,tasty & not shy as well as rarely fished, WHY ?
Like the rabbitfishes their slime is a neurotoxin which will cause extreme pain , numbness, and because of the sharpness of the spines & scutes these injuries are common to those who have tried to battle these fish.
Surgeon fish 8 to10 lb are almost impossible to land. I have even used metal coiled French traces and still lost the fish,the most sucessful fisho for these fish
Uses 80 yes 80 lb braided handline and skull-drags these suckers up.
They have BROKEN some of my 8-15 kg rods! Yet the fish are 5kg!
They are rarely found away from deepwater structure such as ferry and shipping wharves.
I have PM Pingu a pic of a recent capture 50cm & 2kg , I have had some trouble posting pics due to my incompetence!!!!
Caught on Jap Sunline quality Rockfish (high abraision). 25 lb leader the hook lodged in the corner of it's mouth, the ONLY hooks that do no open or break in small sizes are Jap Hayabusa 'live bait' , they are forged and v v high carbon nickel blacked & chemically sharpened.
Although most are found in deep water 30-50'
I will not hook up these fish unless I can see them take the bait, this ensures that the fish;
does not take you by surprise
you can hook in the mouth avoiding line bite through
with locked drag ther are limited meters of line to wrap you around structure
the depth of visibility and size of fish is CRITCAL to your success.Colour is a great indicator, small Sawtails are charcoal black as they mature they lighten most light grey fish are around 2kg (see pingu's pic ) big ones are a dirty grey.
Most locals think they are very big Girella tricuspida or Kyphosidae (Drummer) but they are almost always wrong.
Numerous Bream fishermen have also been fooled into thinking that they have hooked that trophy fish when in fact it has been a Sawtailed Surgeonfish.
The raw power of these fish from a standing start is way beyond any classical sportfish such as a Tuna , and there is much more intelligence in the fight, stamina is their weak point they have only one or two good runs. BUT with HUGE PULLING POWER !

[KABBYCHRIS]

That sounds fish not to tangle with