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LOOK: Fisherman Hooks Unusual Leopard Redfish, Social Media Stunned

One young angler is beaming after he recently reeled in one heck of a redfish. While every redfish is unique on its own, Ryan Hernandez’s leopard redfish was unlike anything he’d ever seen while fishing. He reeled in the remarkable fish late last month off the South Texas coast.

However, this particular fish had so many spots that it looked like a mix between a redfish and a speckled trout. Now, the internet is losing its mind. After he posted a pic of the fish online, many were quick to comment on the fish.

“I think it’s momma must have been hanging out with a bunch of speckled trout,” one commenter quipped underneath the photo.

Hernandez also chimed in himself and revealed that the fish had over 600 spots on its body. He also wrote that he reeled in the fish in Bird Island Basin, located in the Upper Laguna Madre not far from Corpus Christi, Texas.

If you’re unsure what a leopard redfish looks like, you’re probably, not alone. Before he caught the fish, Boat Captian Capt. Danny Alvarez guided Hernandez, his son Eric Alvarez, and some of their family that day. For over 30 years, he’s been fishing the Laguna Madre.

Boat captain floored by young angler’s spotted redfish

During his fishing career, he’s reeled in countless redfish. However, he’s never actually seen a redfish like this in the flesh. The way Alvarez tells it, he was convinced the redfish was a speckled trout at first glance.

“I have fished these water[s] for over 30 years and have never seen a leopard redfish in person, only in magazines until Ryan reeled it in,” said Alvarez, who owns a local fishing charter in the area.

“When I first saw it, from 15 or 20 yards out, I saw all the specks and it looked like a big trout,” Alvarez said in an interview. “I said, ‘Man, that’s a good trout.’ He kept on fighting it, and [the fish] kept on taking line, and once it got closer I said, ‘Aw, that ain’t no trout: That’s a redfish.’”

Alvarez later added that once they caught the rare redfish, everyone on board had to pick their jaws up off the floor. However, instead of the standard copper color, most anglers see when they get a redfish, Alvarez said this one had “a real shiny color to the skin, like a turquoise shell all over its top half. It was beautiful.”

Afterward, Hernandez decided to keep the leopard redfish to have it mounted at his house. As for the total number of spots, Hernandez and another fisherman onboard counted roughly 311 spots on just one side. But, interestingly, they didn’t count the spots on the other side. “I’ll probably never see another one like it,” Alvarez said.