Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-12
SPORT WITH FLYING FISH.
They Are Shot on the Wing on a Cali
fOrnfa Island.


Shooting flying fishes requires as much
skill as in shooting quail said the sports
man. They move just as fast and look so
much like the water that they are hard to
hit. They swim in coveys, just like quail,
too, and one of the prettiest sights 1 ever
saw about the California islands was the
flight Of covey of flying fishes. 1 was out
after them in a small launch, and as we
turned the corner of the island we suddenly
struck heavy west wind. 1t happened
that at that moment a school of tunas came
rushing in and chased the flyers into the
air. There must have been thirty or forty
of them, and as they cleared the water,
head to the wind the gale struck them and
carried them high into the air. where they
drifted away like flock of insects glisten-
ing in the sunlight, gradually falling away
before the wind and disappearing from
view
How far can flying fish f1y?' asked one
of the listeners.
We'll, that's difficult to say. ! know that
they can soar an eighth of a mile, and I'd
be willing to say that they often clear over
a quarter of a mile under favorable condi-
lions. There has always been a good deal
of mystery about the flight of flying fishes,
and there are two decided factions among
men who ought to know. One side says
that the fish flies; that is, flaps its wings;
and the other that 1t merely scars. have
watched hundreds of them and spent weeks
Trying TO lHtH 10
portfolio in the Hermosa, and I leaned out
of that and held my kodak, trying to catch
one, but it was almost impossible. But
saw how they fly. You see, all sorts OF fsh
prey the flying fish, and when the
steamer comes along they think it's a big
killer, perhaps, or tuna, and being slow
swimmers they leap out of the water, ana
they do it in this way-they whirl the tail
around and around. and it acts screw
and sends them out of the water. The tail
is dashed with great vigor and that con-
veys to the body qufvering wrigglin
motion that makes the side fins or wings
look as though they were being tapped;
but it is only for a second.
THE moment the fish clears the water the
wings are seen to be rigid, and they are
held that way while the fish shoots away
three feet above the surface, like kite,
supported by the rush through the air and
impelled by the momentum received by the
action of the tail. They shoot along, say,
for 800 feet, then the force Of the rush
begins to be exhausted and the tail drops
not the head, mind you; just the tip of the
tail; and see,' and the speaker picked up
the four-pound flyer, see the lower lobe of
the tail 1t is longer than the upper. This
touches the water first, and the moment
it does the tail is twisted furiously, and
once more the fish darts away, clearing
perhaps 800 feet before its tail drops again.
This is repeated three or four times, en-
aiding the fish to travel a great distance
without returning to the water The only
beating of the wings is caused by the wrig
Cling of the tail. In a word, the flying fish
has four parachuteS that II fiXeS-two in
front and two behind
AS the speaker finished a flying fish
crossed the bow of the boat followed by a
huge fish, cleaning like silver, that shot up
into the air like an arrow, struck the flyer,
and sent it, whirling like a pinwheel, into
the air.
There's the fish," exclaimed the man with
the gun, as the big creature dropped grace
fully back: there's the fellow that re-
trieves the flying fish and rarely misses
him. The tuna is the only fish that can
catch his prey in the air. You see, he
frightens the flying fish into the air and
follows 1t, just beneath the surface and
when the opportunity comes makes flying
leap and sometimes seizes 1t; again, as now
he hits and kills it, picking it up as it falls
into the water. The tuna is the sharp
eyed fish of the sea. l have seen them fol-
lowing the flying fish. The latter would fly
directly over my boat, the tuna would go
under; but the tuna would never lose sight
of the flyer and bagged 1t as it finally fell
exhausted, after its long, soaring fight.