In the Bleachers by Ben Zaehringer for July 22, 2020

?

Ditto.

Is he trying to catch Ariel or Flounder?

Now that I have spent two minutes Googling and am therefore an expert, . . .

There are many folk tales around the world involving singing (or at least talking) fish.

Or, it may just be a reference to that stupid singing-fish trophy gag gift.

Well, tarnation, Bubba! It’s ‘cause you ain’t been using Jiminy crickets fer bait.

Fixin’ To Die Rag.

https://www.amazon.com/Original-Singing-Sensation-Motion-Activated/dp/B018IS34BW – that’s where.

Can’t remember the name of the cartoon (which was from back around WW2 anyway), but this guy had a singing frog that he thot he could make a fortune with, except every time he’d managed to gather an audience for it, the frog would just clam up.

I think in this case the fish just didn’t feel like cooperating, because he was embarrassed at having fallen for such a cheap imitation fly.

Puffer fish go “arf,arf, arf”.