Reel Repair by Alan Tani

I didn't know they got this big.

I didn't know they'd eat a plug

nice catch

I have seen them in my waters but not as big as that one.  C&R, right?

Wow!  That's a bait for a trophy... - john

The redneck in me has to ask,can you eat them?

Nice catch! Only one I've ever seen "caught" landed in a sailboat by accident.

I know people eat them, somebody somewhere eats pretty much everything. I spent several nights netting them at hurricane bank to use for bait, they smell bad!!!  If they taste like they smell it would be a hard no for me

Released it. It managed to get the whole treble hook in its mouth, but only one hook was past the epidermis(endodermis?). Easy release. I think it survived. Saw the silver/white color near the yak, thought Akule, then onea those giant pectoral's and thought it's being attacked by a predator!

Yes, you can eat flying fish. They are considered a edible delicacy in many parts of the world, particularly in the Caribbean (especially Barbados, where it is the national fish) and Japan. They are described as having a mild, sweet, and flaky white meat, often prepared fried, grilled, or used in stews.

I have only seen them once when I was in the Navy during a refuling operation up in the Aleutian Islands. They were using the draft off the oiler to fly along side. Hundreds of them.

I know people catch cob mullet on hook and line,dough balls on tiny hooks and flies are common.

Flying fish on a fly sounds like a great mission!

A bullet head skirted blue/silver over purple/silver/black ought to be worth a try in your area I reckon...

I see schools of them sometimes about 1/2 that size. If set-up for trolling, I try'n go through
'em in case something is chasing them. No success so far. Gonna check that out if I can find that color combination.

Use to enjoy seeing 100's, maybe even a 1000+ sometimes from the deck of an aircraft carrier. It's amazing how far they actually fly or can fly. It's a different view being 90' above them when they go off. 

Whenever we anchor in San Clemente to make bait, they'll sometimes swim to the lights and we net them for kite rigs.

Never thought of eating them, they are an ugly prehistoric looking fish, so I'd have to be pretty hungry to even think about it.

For those not in the know, in SoCal these have a certain value as a dead bait/frozen bait where they are used for kite fishing big tuna, and usually bamboo skewers/chopsticks are called into service to give structure and stretch out the wings, and on the kite rig they are just allowed to bounce the surface near schools of feeding tuna. - john