The Man Trapped in a Fish's Body vs The World

Due to circumstances beyond your control, or knowledge, you were transformed into a herring, but retained all your memory and knowledge as a human. If you can survive as this fish for a month, you will be returned to your original form, and rewarded with whatever you want. What would your survival tactics be? How would you survive in the open ocean for a month?

Can I jump up the waterfall that can turn me into a dragon?

After you survive as a fish you can, but u- wait, is that a Spyro reference?

Chinese mythology, actually.

Isn't this the point where I join the Navy and spot German submarine movements?

edited 16th Sep '14 9:10:23 PM by maxwellelvis

I die within minutes, because I'm way too far from the sea to be able to flop there before suffocating. Also, I don't think that I could turn door handles while in herring form.

Assuming that I'm already in the ocean, I'm still in big trouble, because I only have a vague idea of what I can eat and how to spot and avoid the main dangers. My best bet would be to find and join a school of other herrings and imitate them as well as I can, while keeping an eye out for fishing fleets, nets and bigger fish; but I would not estimate my chances of survival to be higher than 30%, tops, and that's way optimistic.

edited 16th Sep '14 11:30:12 PM by Carciofus

and even if you came back

you're under the sea

inb4 Fish Police references

At least, as a herring I would be able to cut down the mightiest trees of the forest.

Anything i want?

Aaaanything?

I can survive for a month with that on the line

I could make an anime out of this. It would be incredibly graphic. A fish would die in almost every episode . Don't get too cocky nova

That sounds like something that might be actually quite enjoyable. And instructive too, if you filled it up with science about the many, many ways a herring can die horribly in the ocean.

Or where you thinking about something more along the lines of "The Metamorphosis meets Watership Down and Finding Nemo"?

edited 17th Sep '14 6:37:28 AM by Carciofus

"If they catch you, pollute you, find you, by-net you, introduce an invasive species, accidentally filter feed you, crush you with a boat, cause the breeding of fish-killing algae, trick you into thinking you're going to mate with a hot Herring, drop dynamite on you, fall into your general vicinity with a live electric cable, they will kill you....but first they must catch you, pollute you, find you, by-net you, introduce an invasive species, accidentally filter feed you, crush you with a boat, cause the breeding of fish-killing algae, trick you into thinking you're going to mate with a hot Herring, drop dynamite on you, or fall into your general vicinity with a live electric cable."

-Herring Ship Down

Distract my enemies

This title, alone, would make an amazing title for a short story. That concept is interesting, as well.

Wrote a story about this in English, except it was The Man Trapped In A Brown Recluse. Basically a story about a venomous nocturnal spider, if it had the serial killer mental capacity of a human.

Depends, am I a salt or freshwater fish?

There are more things that eat Herring in salt-water (also its harder to take care of saltwater fish in aquaria) so probably a salt-water one.

But, you can go into freshwater provided you don't die/use your human know-how to survive the stress.

Jeez, out of all the animals to be for a month, you have to be a herring?

@Xopher: You mean like Crimsons?

Being a fly or a mouse means being able to take advantage of families who throw away entire pizzas. Herring on the other hand are so far at the bottom of the food chain that they are eaten by other herring. Herring even eat their own eggs because there are so many of them.

I'd hide next to a shark, preferably a whale shark. Don't know if that would work, but that was the first thing that came to mind. Find something large and scary looking to use as a shield, hope it tolerates my presence.

Now, maybe if I really put some thought into it I could come up with something better, but I'll assume I'm not someone whose been putting a lot of thought into "What would I do if I were a bait fish."

sharks are fish

ergo, i am a shark

a lot of fish do that. Most predatory fish don't naturally seek out whale sharks to find small fish. Most aquatic wildlife don't even know Whale sharks are harmless and just keep away because they're huge.

It's not just any fish.