First of all, this is not LeGuin's story, "Semley's Necklace." In the one I'm thinking of, the sea creature was referred to as Icky, not Ikky, and after the grueling experience of hauling it in, the narrator says that "clean clothes were a blessing." I believe it's from an earlier era.
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1What does the LeGuin story have to do with sea creatures or fishing?– Organic MarbleCommented Aug 14 at 11:45
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1The only thing I can think of is that the Le Guin story appears in the collection "A Fisherman of the Inland Sea".– EthanCommented Aug 14 at 15:55
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2There once was a monster from venus. Oh, wait. I can't tell that joke...– ValorumCommented Aug 14 at 17:29
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LeGuin's story has nothing to do with sea creatures or fishing. As it happens, the collection I was reading (The Good Stuff, edited by Gardner Dozois) was published as a massive hardcover with almost a thousand pages, and wouldn't you know, thirty-three pages were missing—not torn out, just missing a signature which included the end of LeGuin's tale, another quick story, and the beginning of Zelazny's, hence my mistake.– Richard TibbittsCommented Aug 15 at 5:22
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1As for your comment, Ms. Valorum, you're a funny gal. :-)– Richard TibbittsCommented Aug 15 at 5:27
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1 Answer
This could be The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth, written by Roger Zelazny and released in 1965. Check it out at ISFDB.com, and borrow for free with an account at the Internet Archive.
Quoting the synopsis from Wikipedia:
The story is set on Venus at a time when mankind has achieved routine travel to the various planets of the solar system. Unlike the actual planet, Zelazny's Venus is Earth-like, offering breathable air, water-filled oceans and native fauna, one of which is the fictional Ichthyform Leviosaurus Levianthus, a 300-foot-long denizen of the Venusian oceans commonly called "Ikky". It has never been caught, despite numerous attempts to do so.
[...]
Because the lure is deployed only when an Ikky has been detected in close proximity to the ship, the baitman can find himself dangerously close to the Ikky.
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7There is no reference to clean clothes being a blessing in the story, however if you read the anthology of the same name then in another story in the anthology, A Rose for Ecclesiastes, there is the line: The shower was a blessing, clean khakis were the grace of God, and the food smelled like Heaven. Commented Aug 14 at 10:34
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2@JohnRennie oh interesting! The OP probably read the anthology and conflated the two. Thank you for confirming– fezCommented Aug 14 at 12:14
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1I did confuse the two. Thank you for clarifying the matter. Commented Aug 15 at 4:55
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1And, yes, there is one and only one Ikky. I apologize for thinking I knew what I was talking about. :-) Commented Aug 15 at 5:25