Was out in the bay by Westport yesterday for a quick trip to mess with/play with the boat and drop pots for a bit.
The flies were nuts! Kelp flies? Not sure.
They did not bite, just kept flying around, landing and licking any exposed skin. My bald spot where my hat did not cover was particularly tasty to them, but any skin seemed to be fair game, even at 20 knots!
I never went over the bar but heard people being pestered by them 20 miles out.
They were not particularly hand shy or smart. Well, smart for a fly anyway. Killed a bunch but did not save one to confirm the type.
Man they were irritating! Made me think if they were the biting type how biblical it would have been.
I worked in Montana on a farm when I was young and we had plenty of horse and deer flies, but not in these numbers.