Please ID this fish (no pic) Red-lancet shaped-shallow water eelgrass- tomales

While clamming, saw this cool fish, but can't find it in my Pacific Fishes book.  No pic. Approximately 11" long, overall red (like squirrelfish), large eyes, pointed snout (like barracuda) two short white barbells, single dorsal fin extending length of fish and continuous to tail. No separate anal fin, but can't remember if it had continuous fin ray or none. Don't remember seeing any pectoral fin.   Definitely scaled (not eel like).  Habitat.. in 5" of water in eelgrass.. appeared sickly...
I originally thought blenny, but blenny got no scales. Eel pout?  Doesn't look right. Prickleback? No bulldog head... any ideas?

I caught one of those as a kid off of the Lawson's pier... can't remember what the old timers told me it was, though. Curious myself!

Lizardfish maybe? They are sometimes reddish.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sounds like some kind of blenny?  Eel shaped with scales and not a prickleback.

did it look somthing like this pic  (Lancitfish)

Sounds like a sarcastic fringehead, but they don't have scales.

Like this?

Sounds like a sarcastic fringehead, but they don't have scales.

Hi Maul,
is this a sarcastic fringehead...

Sounds like a sarcastic fringehead, but they don't have scales.

Hi Maul,
is this a sarcastic fringehead...

Looks like a giant kelpfish?

 

Yup, kelpfish.

Here's a sarcastic fringehead:

Like this?

Was also thinking Señoritas but they don't live in shallow do they?

Big Jim, that kelpfish looks closest, and I see they come in red.  I think I would have noticed the two prominent fins under the pectoral (can't remember it having a pectoral fin at all). I don't see a description of barbels on kelpfish, and this critter had two definite white ones, approx 1/2 inch long. Color was squirrel-fish red,not muted reddish brown that I see in most of these kelpfish pics...
No big nasty teeth, and to everyone suggesting blenny or fringehead, it clearly had scales....and no bulldog head.
I'm going to hope to see another some day but this was the first I've seen. Possibly out of its habitat as it was acting a bit sickly in the shallows.  I didn't want to risk my phone in the salt darn it....pics next time.
Thanks for the suggestions.

Kelpfish don't have scales, either.

Whoa.. so that thing Jim is holding isn't a kelpfish either? Sure looks like it has scales... well, I keep lookin then...Thanks for education.

Sorry - The picture Alien posted and the picture Jim posted of the fish on the towel are kelpfish. Not sure what the fish is that does have scales from Jim's first pic.