A giant, mysterious fish rattles surfers at Cowell’s

https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/santa-cruz-surfers-spot-mola-mola-sunfish-19541200.php

https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/santa-cruz-surfers-spot-mola-mola-sunfish-19541200.php

Always cool to see a mola on the water. I'm surprised the sea lions had not torn it to shreds, though.

That's a great photo.  Couple years ago I was in Santa Cruz pedaling straight into the rising sun.  My buddy was on my right and he kept asking, "What is that?  Is the kelp moving?  There's something in front of us."  I couldn't see what he was looking at and then suddenly a large fin erected directly in front of my kayak.  I remember saying, "Oh Fu--, we got a problem."  Then I saw the body of the giant mola mola and spent the next minute trying to lower my blood pressure... 

Similar expereience long ago seeing the first fin in my life swimming in the water in Monterey.  But, it sort of zig zagged and I finally got the courage to go closer and saw a giant mola mola for the first time.  So cool to see them, when they are intact.

One of the few fish that could be considered "cute"

such a neat, weird fish.  never seen a giant but I saw a smaller one launch 3 feet out of the water near me once, and it took my brain a second to process what I was seeing 

Somebody had to post this  does not get old. *profanity warning* but I believe this is also a common Bostonian dialect.

https://youtu.be/8n2cIeIpzLA?si=8lUbnRmeTPtjydoR

Somebody had to post this  does not get old. *profanity warning* but I believe this is also a common Bostonian dialect.

https://youtu.be/8n2cIeIpzLA?si=8lUbnRmeTPtjydoR

thank you

Had this guy come up and say hello a couple years ago!
“Cute”

Scotty

such a neat, weird fish.  never seen a giant but I saw a smaller one launch 3 feet out of the water near me once, and it took my brain a second to process what I was seeing 

I had no idea that they ever did that.

Our last pac hali trip out of Trinidad I saw a huge figure near a current line offshore, dark top lighter bottom with a round profile. It had my heart racing and I asked the group to hightail it out. It coulda been a large mola mola under the surface (i hope), it had the same profile as a VW bug. Didn't have the courage to look back, felt better once we were a bit shallower but seeing something that large 5 miles in 200 fow out was a shit ur pants kinda experience. We also saw a small blue shark that matanaska hooked.

It must have been the side sun fish, or the landlord looking right at me!