"My Closest Friend Is A Fish." Diver Shares Surprisingly Heartwarming Bond With Smallmouth Bass.

Some say that dogs are man’s best friend, but they clearly haven’t met scuba diver Rex Colubra and his fish buddy, Elvis! According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, these two first met in the Wisconsin lake that Elvis calls home. He took a shine to Rex, and they’ve been swimming alonside each other every time the human stops by. Of course, it helps that the diver usually brings a snack for his bestie!

“My closest friend is a fish,” wrote Rex in an Instagram caption.

Elvis is a smallmouth bass. Rex explained in a TikTok post that he can tell his friend apart from the other fish by a “unique mouth disfigurement” sustained from a fishing hook. According to the diver, it’s not uncommon to see these animals swimming around with old facial injuries. That’s why Rex decided to give up recreational fishing and take up snorkeling instead!

@elvisthesmallmouth
He gave me his best line ❤️ I’m Rex, and this is my good friend, Elvis the smallmouth bass. This same little fella has followed me on 12 separate dives in a huge lake over the course of 13 months (as of 11-20-2022). For those of you wondering, he’s been strangely fascinated by me before I started feeding him, that just sealed the deal. lol He literally follows me into shore to about 10-12” of water. He’s easily ID’d by his unique mouth disfigurement, which is a former fishing injury that ripped the connective tissues in his upper lip. My change of heart: I am THE quintessential “animal guy” and have always loved nature and the outdoors. Used to be a very avid fisherman that lived on the lake and went out almost daily. I went on a snorkeling trip and had the most amazing experience with tons of wild fish. Most of them coming right up to me and some letting me touch them. I was blown away by how intelligent and curious they were. As I was under waves, having this surreal experience, I was noticing that the majority of these fish had horribly disfigured faces. Ripped jaws, hanging lips, large black bruises and swollen mouths. My immediate dumb self response was “oh, there must be some horrible ‘lip disease’ affecting the fish in this lake.” Then I surfaced for air, saw the anglers and made the connection… oh… Since then, I traded my tackle box for goggles and haven’t been happier. I’m all for hunting and fishing for food, when done ethically, do it myself, but there’s no real justification for me to hurt these animals for my amusement anymore. It’s far more rewarding to swim with them. I’m all for personal freedom, and you’re free to choose what you want to do, but this is my choice. Don’t like it? Gfy 😊 elvelvisthesmallmouthvelvisthebassvelvisthefishsfishhichthyologyianimalsnfunnyanimalsnfunnynfunnyvideosnfunnyvideolhilariouspfyppfyppfypシdy comcomedyvideosivdivingefreedivingosnorkelinguscubauscubadivingvdivelifeklakesklakelifedunderwaterphotographydunderwatertnaturephotographytnaturephototnaturephotostnatureobiologyozoologyoilovefishovenature
♬ Duke Of Earl (Re-Recording) – Gene Chandler

Before this human could be friends with fish, he had to give up catching them.

In his emotional caption, the swimmer explained how one underwater excursion changed his perspective on aquatic life forever. As Rex observed the fish around him, he realized two things. First, he noticed that these animals were incredibly sweet and smart. Next, he saw just how many of them had been mutilated by fishing gear. That’s when he started to see fish as his friends rather than his prey.

“Since then, I traded my tackle box for goggles and haven’t been happier,” Rex wrote. “I’m all for hunting and fishing for food, when done ethically, do it myself, but there’s no real justification for me to hurt these animals for my amusement anymore. It’s far more rewarding to swim with them.”

Swimming with Elvis has become one of Rex’s favorite pastimes, which you can clearly see in the adorable clips he posts with the smallmouth bass on TikTok!

Watch the video below to see the sweet relationship between a human diver and his fish best friend.

You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.

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“My Closest Friend Is A Fish.” Diver Shares Surprisingly Heartwarming Bond With Smallmouth Bass.

Before this human could be friends with fish, he had to give up catching them.

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Before this human could be friends with fish, he had to give up catching them.

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