WHEN Grant Lee opened his cast net to see a creature with a horn, four feet and a dorsal fin, he was surprised to say the least. 

He wasn't on a scene of The Simpsons or in a strange dream, he was fishing at Turkey Beach, cast netting for prawns and other bait.

"I've been fishing for a long time and I've never seen anything like this," he said.

He put it in a bucket and took it home, aerating the water to make sure the strange creature stayed alive.

It wasn't until he took it in to CQUniversity when he found out it was actually an antennariidae Angler Fish.

Not common in Gladstone waters, marine ecology lecturer Emma Jackson said it was rare to see one close up.

The creatures sit in the banks and sea floor waiting for food to come their way.

The fish, which come in many different species of all shapes and sizes, is native to the area.

"I've never seen one close up," Ms Jackson said.  

"I thought it was a frog fish at first but they don't have those big extended fins on top of their heads.

 "They're quite weird and wonderful, they look like there's a missing link between an animal in the water and land," she said.