Strange, weird or odd or whatever beach finds thread….

Cabezon said:
If you want a real mind-blower, look up the Bobbit worm (see here and here). They can reach 10' in length buried into the sediment. They are ambush hunters which can explosively strike a passing fish with its powerful jaws and pull the fish down its burrow to be devoured.
Steve
Click to expand...
Worms creep me out as it is. Bobbit worms are alien space monsters!
 
Cabezon said:
If you want a real mind-blower, look up the Bobbit worm (see here and here). They can reach 10' in length buried into the sediment. They are ambush hunters which can explosively strike a passing fish with its powerful jaws and pull the fish down its burrow to be devoured.
Steve
Click to expand...
Steve you left out the weird part, the Bobbit worm may be named after Lorena Bobbitt!

From the Lorena Bobbitt Wikipedia page:

The bristle worm Eunice aphroditois is informally known as the "Bobbitt worm" after the case, because it attacks its prey with scissor-like jaws.

Watching the bobbitt worm grab its prey reminds me of beach worming as a kid, with a set of pliers and some carcasses on a string, trying to grab the worm's neck as it reaches out for the flesh, I was never fast enough to collect the worm for bait...had better luck finding them just digging quickly on a low tide beach though others make it look easy....
 
Last edited:
Cabezon said:
Hi Brian,
That is the giant pile worm or giant clam worm. The old scientific name was Nereis brandti. That genus has been better defined in recent research papers and this species has been placed in a new genus, Neanthes, though there is some discussion of moving it into yet another genus Alitta (see here). This is the largest polychaete species in the PNW, reaching up to 5' in length (and as thick around as your thumb). For most of their lives, they are detritivores consuming organic material and waste algae, such as Ulva = sea lettuce, buried in the mud or fine sand. On full moon nights in spring and early summer, mature males and females emerge from their burrows and swarm in the water column. They are quite fast swimmers for benthic worms at between 1 and 1.5mph. Males are attracted to pheromones released by gravid females. When two individuals of opposite sexes come in contact, the bodies of each worm rupture to release clouds of eggs and sperm. The adult worms then die and those are what you have found. The close proximity of egg and sperm release maximizes fertilization rates (it is a bit ocean and dilution can be a real problem for fertilization success (see pinto abalone...)). The fertilized eggs hatch and the larvae spend several weeks in the water column, added several segments. They then settle onto the bottom for the next year or more before being drawn up into the water column themselves on a full moon night to continue the cycle.
Steve
Click to expand...
So, what Stonedfish found is sloppy seconds 🤔🫠?
 
Note to self: No skinny-dipping in Bobbit Worm territory.
 
Really nice stainless steel shovel. Then later that night, my wife's friend thought we wanted her to park in our garage and ran over it (no damage to the tire). Luckily, the shovel sacrificed itself before any fishing gear was damaged (drying out from the day). 😅
IMG_7844.jpeg
IMG_7845.jpeg
 
I found Wilson, we had a chat. He has attachment and abandonment issues. Then the Westerly kicked up and I had to get to paddling and he was like "Again? This always happens to me..."

He sounded so pathetic and whiny. I think his vocal cords had delaminated.

Still I had some sympathies for him. Traumatic events back on the Fed Ex cargo plane and in the South Pacific can cause a ball to delaminate and dissociate.

I validated the dude's emotions, was a patient listener, but, honestly, I don't got time for Wilson therapy and well, he's in his senescence. Bladder issues. Skin cancer. Erosive sores. He looked like he was in pain. So I packed him up, paddled him back, and tossed him into the garbage for his next voyage. A mercy kill perhaps?

Goodbye Wilson, I did what had to be done.
1774737706068.png
Looks like shoe season is starting strong, none of these had bones in them
1774737750487.png
Imagine my surprise to find a still in-season pumpkin. this thing was half buried in the sand, like a Bobbit worm, waiting to take off some unsuspecting person's leg. I got him though....

I gave the lure to a dude that looked like he would use it.

Also came across a hay bale. These are my Beach Monet Shots:
1774737807992.png1774737889002.png
Grand Haul to the trash and recycle, though Pumpkin released...
1774737917586.png
 
Maybe all they had was a 12’ T-17 tip and got tired of hanging up.
 
No idea what this is.
IMG_6263.jpeg

Found someone’s punch card. You can barely see the WDFW watermark. Hopefully I find the owner before it expires tomorrow. 😂

IMG_6274.jpegIMG_6276.jpeg
 
Brian, and this is why the AI overlords will screw us. By being confidently and absolutely wrong. I would agree though, don't ingest this. As I have suspicion this is some kind of excess drain thing for a liquid, worst case, liquid fecal. So, again, take home message, don't eat it.

1775058655932.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top