It's sort of hard to tell if the light ring you can see in the pic is, sediment or part of the old anode. I'd take a small flat blade screwdriver and see if I can tap the stuff loose. If it shatters, it's scale and the center rod on your nut is just stuck in the same scale. After you get it out, you might have to go in the hole with a long drill rod to brake up scale. Crunch it up, flush, crunch it up, flush...till it's as clean as you can make it. With that much scale and corrosion, you have probably got a few weak spots in the tank. I'd just keep it in mind that you might need a new water heater tank soon.