Are these fish sending a message with their mysterious spots?

The 45-year-old angler in Pensacola, Fla., started catching them by flicking live shrimp, sand fleas and finger mullet on a spin rod before he moved on to fly fishing. About eight years ago, Brown began noticing odd spot patterns on their tails.

At first, he caught one with what appeared to have an uppercase “A." Then he spotted a clear letter “E" on another catch. There were also some fish with no spots, which is rare. After five years, between his own catches and other online reports, he had accounted for the entire alphabet and the numbers 0 through 9. There were even smiley faces, Pac-Man symbols and hearts.

He posted the finds on his website and Instagram page, Drum Spots, which quickly amassed a devoted following.

‘It’s like they want us to be happy,’ angler Andrew Brown said of the volume of heart-shaped spots.

“Hearts are the most common spots that appear," Brown said. “It’s like they want us to be happy."

The discoveries have captivated the fishing world and sparked both curiosity and doubt. Some say anglers are simply seeing what they want to see. Then there’s the possibility that images were doctored. The people who reeled in these magical fish, from the Northeast U.S. to Mexico, say the spots’ clarity and legitimacy are undeniable. Ripley’s Believe It or Not is on the case.

Ron Ratliff said he’s caught fish with most letters in the alphabet and a spot shaped like Louisiana. The 43-year-old fishing boat captain caught one in late August that had the word “and" on its tail. What could that mean? “And it’s time to catch another one," said Ratliff, who runs Marshdawn Guide Services in Cocodrie, La.

Sometimes the spots appear to be sending a clear message, in this case ‘Go.’.

“It’s just these weird-ass genetics going on with their spots," said Steven Crowder, who operates Madness Charters out of Jacksonville, Fla. One of his clients caught a large redfish with the man’s own initials on it.

“It was creepy," Crowder said. “That fish literally had his name written all over it."

Bobby Warren, who runs Adventure Charters out of Venice, La., said sighting odd tail spots on redfish is a subjective pursuit, like looking up at clouds and seeing a dog or cat. “It’s crazy when you pull one out of the water and the spot is clearly something legible—letters, symbols, numbers," said Warren, 60. His favorite redfish spot resembled the Under Armour logo.

Mike Illig said he caught a redfish with a tail spot resembling Edgar Allan Poe. Oddly enough, the boat captain reeled it in at the beach where Poe was stationed during his stint in the military.

While many of the shapes are up for interpretation, scientists say they all serve the same purpose: protection.

“They’re all different—like a fingerprint," said guide John Fuss, who fishes the low country of South Carolina. Fuss, 42, also compares tail spotting to seeing shapes in the clouds. “It’s like a Rorschach test—what do you see?"

Scientists say whatever their shape, the spots serve a protective purpose as false eyes that cause predators to mistake the head for the tail. “It’s a pretty logical way of avoiding getting yourself eaten," said Zack Jud, a game fish biologist with the Florida Oceanographic Society.

Marine biologist Eric Latimer has spent 40 years studying redfish spots. He likens them to freckles in that they run in the family, and said if you look hard enough, “you can see anything you can imagine."

‘You can see anything you can imagine’ in the fish spots, says marine biologist Eric Latimer.

Latimer, who works at Duke Energy’s Crystal River Mariculture Center, said he hasn’t seen anything that’s blown his mind. “I’ve never been that deep into it," he said. “But now I’m going to be looking at those spots."

Tom Bie, editor of the Drake, a fly fishing magazine, said he’s seen a lot of photoshopped redfish tail spots. But after examining one catch with a heart-shaped spot, he was convinced. “I have it on good authority that this heart is legit," he said. “But who knows, because all anglers are liars."

Brown, the Pensacola fisherman, believes redfish have a sense of humor, and are trying to communicate. He once found a spot resembling the middle finger. “Like a grumpy redfish flipping you off, like ‘Damn you caught me.’ They’re actually flipping us off," Brown said. He’s caught several redfish like that.

He also discovered tail spots spelling “I LOVE YOU." Another one read “TURD" on one side of the tail. On the other side it read: “TURD ON."

Steven Crowder, who operates Madness Charters, says clients have spotted everything from faces to their own initials.

Brown submitted a few photos of his odd spots to Ripley’s Believe It or Not last year. Ripley’s published his discoveries this month. “He shared his fishy finds with us," said a spokeswoman.

“There is absolutely something going on here," Brown said. “They have this connection with our world in pop culture, language and emotion. They’re trying to say something. We just have to slow down and observe."