This was the type of fish that was mentioned!
My dad had been scout master when my brother, who is 8 years older than I am, was in scouts, so they warned me about snipe hunts prior to my first camping trip. I came prepared. I brought a wind up bird and waited for about 15 minutes, until the older kids (read 13 or 14) had figured I was well and truly lost. I then wandered back into the campfire with the paperbag I had been given kicking and bucking like mad. I don't know what they think I had, but it scared them to death. That group of kids never tried anything like that on me again.