I caught this in the creek behind Pawleys Island, SC. I was told by a local woman that my description sounds like a toadfish. But I don't see that as a SC saltwater species. I caught it on the first cast. As I was clearing a backlash, it was already on. It was about 10" long and the head was larger than the body. It had a row of stubby teeth top and bottom. Sorry for the pic quality. It was taken with a phone though a waterproof enclosure.

Looks like a oyster toadfish.

I don't know the correct name, but when I lived in S.C. we called them dogfish.

 

Toadfish.

They live on the bottom  and wait for prey to swim by.

Made the mistake of trying to lip one of those on vacation at Ocean City last year. Bought a pair of pliers at the end of the pier immediately after. Lesson learned.

Looks like a sculpin to me . I use to have a sculpin in an aquarium .

We call them oyster crackers=AKA toads,all mouth,mother-in -law,plus $%&*ers

There actually is an Asian market for them.

They are slimey as a fresh hocker and will latch on to a thumb ,finger

 

 

Opsanus tau. Oyster toadfish. Perhaps due to its alien appearance, NASA sent one to space in 1998.

Some people (hungry astronauts?) will eat them.

 

Sculpin or a goby of some sort!

Is that an adult ? How big do they get on average ?