Saw an ocean sunfish in Vineyard sound this AM

[Mr. Sandman]

Wish I had my camera...thing was huge..The fin stuck out of the water 3'.
I never saw one in the sound before ...must be after all those jellyfish!

[likwid]

Seen sea turtles in the sound too.

They'll be popping up this time of year in that area.

[marshman]

I have seen them off Greenharbor in Marshfield...definitely fun seeing such a big fish cruise around the boat.

Where do they normally range up and down the coast?

[partsjay]

I never seen one, how big do they get? Do they look like a huge freshwater sunfish?

[Mr. Sandman]

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spec...eciesname=mola


http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/Thumb...ry.cfm?ID=1732

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...3Doff%26sa%3DG

[bart]

seen em in the canal a coupla times

[kippy]

I saw one on an offshore trip to the canyons a few years ago..strange looking fish.

[Saltheart]

The ones that hung out in the canal a couple seasons back were huge and had fins that stuck out of the water close to 6 feet. Mola Mola?

[t.orlando]

A few years back I saw 1 pick up a guys dead herring off the bottom in the canal. Breached 3 times before breaking off. Man, what an ugly fish. They were in the canal like crazy about 5-6 years ago. Would see a couple everyday.

[Surfcastinglife]

wow ugly and BIG love 2 see one up close

[Mr. Sandman]

They like to eat jellyfish...we sure have enough of them this year.

[nor-easter]

If you really want them to hang around, when they are eating jelly fish you only need to open a jar of Peanut Butter and spread it on the water above the Jelly Fish. They go big for Peanut Butter and Jelly Fish!

[stormfish]

Seen a bunch of those on my offshore trips in the past. One rised in our way as our yellowfin was being reeled up. Tried to harpoon the thing but the thing seems bullet proof! Dented our harpoon shaft!

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally posted by nor-easter
If you really want them to hang around, when they are eating jelly fish you only need to open a jar of Peanut Butter and spread it on the water above the Jelly Fish. They go big for Peanut Butter and Jelly Fish!

UGHH!! That was Painful

[partsjay]

What a weird-ass fish that thing is......I've never seen one of those before. Thanks for the link...now I know. This has become a productive day at work after all.

[BasicPatrick]

I saved a baby one a few years ago...there is a neat article I wrote on the MSBA web site under articles called "I thought I saw a Bass".

[BigFish]

Alright....enough Sunfish talk for today......use the search feature for cryin' out loud! That topic has been done to death!!!!

[RIROCKHOUND]

Storm.. why the He!! would you harpoon one??

[Pete_G]

They are a fairly normal sighting near shore (or offshore) this time of year. There was one off Lands End and another in the Sakonnet recently.

For some real entertainment, next time you see one snag it. Not only will you see line on your reel that you've never seen before, but as t.orlando mentioned they will definitely clear the water a few times during the battle. It's pretty funny seeing something that large and normally slow moving go like they do when you pull on them.

[fishaholic18]

Originally posted by BigFish
Alright....enough Sunfish talk for today......use the search feature for cryin' out loud! That topic has been done to death!!!!

What??? Are you the only one who can Ramble here???????
4300+ posts...I wouldn't talk about searching for info.
I saw a few at B.I. last year.

[kippy]

Originally posted by fishaholic18
What??? Are you the only one who can Ramble here???????
4300+ posts...I wouldn't talk about searching for info.
I saw a few at B.I. last year.

I think you missed the joke fishaholic..

[fishaholic18]

I must have, sorry!!!!

[BigFish]

I saw a sunfish last year off the backside and I swore it was a shark....I had never seen such a large dorsal coming out of the water before!

[kippy]

Larry did you try to harpoon it?

[BigFish]

Didn't have my harpoon with me Kip!

[Iwannakeeper]

I saw a monster one out on a whale watch a few years back. they are definitely an interesting looking fish.

Don't know why the captain didn't order us to harpoon it.

[kippy]

What would be the best way to land an ocean sunfish if you were to attempt it?


Larry this thread is officially done..for those who want to learn more about ocean sunfish..use the search feature for crying out loud!

[fishweewee]

Never ceases to amaze me how huge they are.

They are a regular visitor to some of the Outer Cape beaches in the morning (I remember freaking out at Nauset thinking a shark was swimming by - the dorsals are similar).

[slapshot]

I've seen two in Long Island Sound this year. They are not scared of boats. Nearly hit the first one (could not see it in the chop). They will let you come right up to them, and they seem to be curious as to who or what you are.