We do not see a fish fly every day!
There are a ton of strange fish swimming the world's oceans and freshwater lakes and rivers. However, few of them are as weird as the flying fish. These strange, ray-finned fish can glide effortlessly above the surface of the water thanks to their large pectoral fins and pelvic fins. They open almost like wings.
The Atlantic flying fish (Cheilopogon melanurus) is one species of flying fish that is often found in the Atlantic Ocean, often in U.S. waters. While they are not targeted often, it is possible for recreational anglers to catch these fish, as BlacktipH demonstrates in today's video.
As you will see, these fish are easy to catch and once these fish decide to use their tail fin to leave the water and launch for take-off, it can make for a unique fight you will not get out of any other creatures swimming in the fisheries they call home.
Flying fish are one of the oddities of nature that few people ever talk about. It looked like a lot of fun to target these fish. No one really knows why they take to the air and glide for long distances. It has long been believed this is their way to escape predators. After all, this species is preyed up by larger fish like wahoo, marlin, swordfish, mackerel, and more. As you saw here, using one for bait produced a mahi-mahi.
However, taking to the skies also opens this species to air attack from birds. For some creatures, there is no safe place to retreat it would seem. The range for this bony fish is much larger than you might think. For the Atlantic species, they are common sight in the Gulf of Mexico and down around Florida. They are also found in the Caribbean. Their range goes far North all the way up to the waters off New York and Massachusetts.
This means this species is probably more accessible to anglers than most species found in Florida. They make for a fun diversion or a chance for something new when you have gotten bored with catching other species. What angler would not want the chance to fight a fish that tries to fly away?
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
NEXT: PETA IS NOW GOING AFTER FISHERMEN
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