PUZZLING: Angler Jaimie Martin had never seen anything like the catfish he caught at Rocky Dam Creek.

PUZZLING: Angler Jaimie Martin had never seen anything like the catfish he caught at Rocky Dam Creek.

AN angler has come across something unusual and puzzling while fishing near Koumala.

Jamie Martin, who has been fishing for 20 years, moved to Mackay from Western Australia five months ago. He said fishing in the two different regions had some similarities, but this wasn't one of them.

On a recent trip to Rocky Dam Creek he reeled in a catfish covered in what he described as growths or 'tumours'.

"It looked like some sort of tumorous growth and it was as hard as coral," he said.

He snapped a quick picture before throwing it back in the water. Later he posted the picture to social media and found he wasn't the only person to come across this.

Several people said they also had caught similar-looking fish.

Mackay Fishing Alliance's John Bennett has been fishing in the region all his life.

"I have never seen anything like that," he said. "It looked pretty disturbing, I don't think it's normal."

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection were contacted but said they could not comment.

James Cook Universities' Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture was also contacted .