After Fridays trip I decided to go back out with my buddy Norm on Saturday on his Maycraft 23. Pretty much the same thing. Tons of shorts and a good solid limit of bugs up to four pounds.
A wierd thing happened though...
About midnight A very small seal jumped up on our stern. Initially I thought it was sick but it just really wanted to be around people. For the next three hours it was on, in and all around the boat. Just thought the boat was a big toy. It would follow me around deck, climb up on the rail next to me when I sat down, just acted like a little wet puppy.
It was obviously bright and very curious, interested in everything we did. Every time I'd lean over to grab a rope it would jump up and the rail and watch me , then sometimes jump in and watch the net come up.
Talk about mixed feelings.
Obviously this pup had been "saved" by some animal rescue group then released in the bay.
I always have a problem with that. Wild animals should not be tamed then put back in the wild near populated areas. Just too much chance for interaction.
I actually felt sorry for it but it was an interesting to experience.
After a while I tried feeding it some dines and then some old albacore. It wouldn't lunge or grab like a hungry dog, but instead delicately take each piece out of my hand being very careful not to get my fingers. At one point I got distracted and I felt some thing hit my hand. Turned out the seal was nuzzling my fish covered fingers to see if I still had fish in them.
Didn't bite just checked them out, practically licked my hand like a puppy.
You could touch it, pet it, I even scratched it behind it's ears, (which it really seemed to enjoy) I wish we'd had some video equipment. Absolutely unreal.
I was a little concerned but it didn't mess up anything, stayed out of the way when we were working bugs, I'm telling you it was better behaved then my dog 
The only time it got aggressive is when I swatted it on the butt trying to get it to stop chewing on some plastic from the deck. It quickly turned and nipped me on the arm but very soft. Not even enough to leave a mark, as if to say: Hey don't do that!!
What can I say: one part of me was kind of in awe of this little wild thing (no longer wild unfortuantely). The other was thinking this is just so wrong!!
From the markings (branded) and the numbered tag you could tell this pup had been in captivity. A victim of some rescue operation. I say victim because now it's now screwed. My attitude is if you want to take these things out of the wild then nurse them back to health you can't just toss them back in the ocean in Santa Monica Bay.
That seal is headed for trouble. It doesn't fear man and one night it will jump on the wrong boat and somebody or the seal itself is going get hurt bad. Personally I was intrigued but a lot of people would of panicked.
I can understand the idea of wanting to help animals, but in my opinion rescuing these then just dumping them in a populated area is nuts. Just too much chance for them to interact with people without their natural fear. That seal is no longer a wild animal. It would be better off at Seaworld then in the wild.
It's just like all those pelicans they ship in from the Saltin sea, just a bad way to handle the situation in my opinion.
Dealing with it did change some views I have on seals though. I had no idea they were so smart. That thing was very, very intelligent.
What can I say I enjoyed the experience but in the long run I don't think this is a story that will end well.
Tight lines Jim
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