Salem nature photographer and content creator Brian Stone was salmon fishing alone Sept. 17 near Newport when he met one of the ocean’s strangest animals: an ocean sunfish.

With the boat’s engine turned off, the cow-sized sunfish lingered and circled the aluminum craft, then made a wide 20-foot loop and returned. Stone said the fish was very curious, and he was just as curious in return. They stared at each other.

When it hovered about 10 feet below the surface, Stone dipped his fingers in the water; the fish rose to the surface, where Stone was able to touch it. He guessed it was roughly seven feet long and likely well over 1,000 pounds.

“Felt like a jellyfish,” he said. “They are super weird — almost like olive skin in texture.”

Disc-shaped with winglike fins and a stubby tail, sunfi

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