Posted by Brad on September 04, 2002 at 17:41:38:
In Reply to: The Tale of the Flying Fish posted by Rob Barton on September 04, 2002 at 13:16:40:
Flying fish are very interesting creatures! I had a couple come in the boat recently. I watched as one came out of the water from about 30ft away directly at my face! I could have tipped him, but i just ducked, he missed me by inches. It was a very interesting perspective from which to see them fly.
I agree with you seahunt, they can be dangerous. Years ago, coming into the east end of SCI, we scared up a school of about 50 mature flyers. One of them hit the rail right next to my head, it sounded like a hammer!
I have seen them an inch long, they look like moths with wings being disporportionately large to the size of their bodies. When they are that small, they still try to fly but they only jump a little instead. Really cute.
This time of year you can watch the sealions herd them up and drive them into a cove or a kelp line. I have seen pelicans line the rocks to get the ones that end up flying up out of the water. When the sealions eat that batch or the fish get away, they go out for more, often working in teams of two.