your post is almost exactly the same as the one i posted last week in the saltwater board! newport bay is great! i even posed the exact same question about that mystery fish. i even described it the same way...has a lingcod like head with an eel like body! AmishEd replied with the answer...it is called a midshipman or humming fish...do a yahoo search on it or something and i think you will find it to be the fish you caught. my brother caught the same thing last week...creepy looking thing huh?! anyways, hope this helps...til next time...keep that davey's locker boat afloat! (i always seem to get the one with a hole in it!)