There is a fish I have encountered, but sadly don’t have a picture of my own, which ranks as perhaps the strangest fish of all.

I’ve met some strange fish with equally strange names, such as the sarcastic fringehead; however, the monkeyface prickleback eel takes the cake.

It probably really would take the cake if you could figure out how to keep cake on the hook and use it for bait in this critter’s favored habitat, which is typically man-made. They like to hide and feed deep in pockets of jetties and reefs. 

When you find yourself near a harbor with jetties or long breakwaters from central California northward, tell friends you are going out after monkeyface prickleback eels and watch the looks of consternation.

Then later, invite them over for a fresh fish dinner and watch the looks of satisfaction while they are smacking their lips.

A monkeyface prickleback eel (we’ll call it a MPE for short) looks a bit like a fish and a bit like an eel, but it wiggles into shapes that only eels can manage. It lives deep in the watery recesses of coastal jetties and breakwaters.

Extreme low tides are the time to go far out on the rocks and climb down as low in the rocks as the waves will safely allow. That is where you can connect with these alien-like fish.

To gear up, take a broomstick or bamboo rod and firmly affix some stout wire or shirt hanger with the end made into a loop. Tie onto that loop a 6-to-8-inch leader of heavy mono (recommend 30 to 60 pounds) tied to a heavy gauge hook baited with squid pieces.

It is far from what you would call an elegant rig, but it works.

Climb down into the gaps between rocks and put the bait down as deep into the watery crevasses below as you can reach. Watch out for wave action raising the water level.

When you feel a bite, yank the fish out of the rocks before it either wedges itself between the rocks, or pulls you in instead. You are probably safe because MPEs average maybe two pounds, though they can get bigger.

Once home, it is a slender fish, so fillet it carefully so as not to waste meat. You can cook it whole, but it isn’t a particularly pretty fish to look at on the plate.

My favorite cooking method is to cook some chopped up onions in real butter, lay the filets out on top of the onions, and dribble a little more butter on the filets as you cook. About six or seven minutes per side should do it.

Serve it up with some wild grain rice and watch your guests dig in. They may even want to join you on the next wild spelunking adventure.