Do these fish send a message with their mysterious places?

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. John M. Clarke Jr., The Wall Street Journal 4 min Read 23 Sept 2025, 07:00 IST anglers are detecting strange place patterns on impala, like this Smiley face. Summary impala with perfect numbers, letters and symbols on their tails are all the anger on the water. Andrew Brown has spent most of his life chasing impala, a piscatorial price that is remarkable for his struggle and unique tail marks. The 45-year-old angler in Pensacola, Florida, began to catch them by flashing live shrimp, sand fleas and fingermullet on a twist bar before he went fishing. About eight years ago, Brown began to notice strange place patterns on their tails. Initially, he caught one with a capital letter “A.” Then he saw a clear letter “e” on another catch. There were also some fish without spots, which are rare. After five years, between his own catches and other online reports, he made the entire alphabet and the numbers 0 to 9 responsible. There were even Smiley faces, PAC-man symbols and hearts. He posted the finds on his website and Instagram page, Drum Spots, which quickly collected a dedicated next. “It’s as if they want us to be happy,” Angler Andrew Brown said about the volume of heart -shaped spots. “Hearts are the most common places that appear,” Brown said. “It’s as if they want us to be happy.” The discoveries captivated the fishing world and caused both curiosity and doubt. Some believe anglers simply see what they want to see. Then the possibility is that images are docked. The people who said in these magical fish, from northeastern us to Mexico, say the clarity and legitimacy of the spots is unmistakable. Ripley’s believes it or not is on the matter. Ron Ratliff said he caught fish with the most letters in the alphabet and a place like Louisiana. The 43-year-old fishing boat captain caught one at the end of August that had the word “and” on his tail. What could this mean? “And it’s time to catch another,” says Ratliff, who manages Marshdawn Guide Services in Cocodrie, LA. Sometimes the places seem to be sending a clear message, in this case ‘go’. “It’s just these strange genetics that are going on with their places,” says Steven Crowder, who operates madness of Jacksonville, Florida. One of his clients caught a big impala with the man’s own initials on it. “It was creepy,” Crowder said. “That fish literally wrote his name everywhere.” Bobby Warren, who is adventure Charters from Venice, La. “It’s crazy when you pull one out of the water, and the place is clearly readable – containers, symbols, numbers,” says Warren, 60. His favorite Redfish spot looks like the Under Armor Logo. Mike, Mike, said he caught a impala with a tail spot that looks like Edgar Allan Poe. Oddly enough, the boat captain threw it on the beach where Poe was stationed during his lead in the military. Although many of the forms are looking for interpretation, scientists say they all serve the same purpose: protection. “They’re all different – like a fingerprint,” said the Guide John Fuss, who is fishing the low country of South Carolina. Lifting (42) also compares tail stains with the view of shapes in the clouds. “It’s like a Rorschach test – what do you see?” Scientists say regardless of their shape, the spots serve a protective purpose as false eyes that cause predators to miss the head for the tail. “It’s a fairly logical way to avoid being eaten,” says Zack Jud, a wild biologist at the Florida Oceanographic Society. Marine biologist Eric Latimer spent 40 years studying impala. He compares them to freckles by running in the family, and says if you look loud enough, “you can see everything you can think of.” “You can see everything you can imagine” on the fish stains, says marine biologist Eric Latimer. Latimer, who works at Duke Energy’s Crystal River Mariculture Center, said he saw nothing that blew his mind. “I’ve never been so deep in it,” he said. “But now I’m going to look at those places.” Tom Bie, editor of The Drake, a Flying Vistage magazine, said he saw many photoshoppe impala tail stains. But after examining one catch with a heart -shaped place, he was convinced. “I have it on good authority that this heart is legal,” he said. “But who knows, because all anglers are liars.” Brown, the Pensacola fisherman, believes that impala has a sense of humor and tries to communicate. He once found a place that looks like the middle finger. “Like a grumpy impala that knocks you off, like ‘Duch you caught me. “They actually turn us off,” Brown said. He caught a few impala. He also discovered behind the tail stains that “I love you”. Another reads “turd” on one side of the tail. On the other hand, it reads: ‘Turd on.’ Steven Crowder, who operates madness of manuals, says clients have seen everything from faces to their own initials. Brown has submitted some photos of his strange places to Ripley’s or not last year. Ripley’s published his discoveries this month. “He shared his fish with us,” a spokeswoman said. “There’s absolutely something going on here,” Brown said. “They are related to our world in pop culture, language and emotion. They try to say something. We just have to delay and observe. ‘ Catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #News Read Next Story