Chronicles of a Blue Water Hunter

[miles]

Hiya

Took my boat out to Dassen Island. Fairly calm sea with a little wind. Echo sounder was reading a coolllllddddd 12 degrees celcuis at the harbour. Just outside the harbour, water was a dirty brown colour. ZERO viz!!!! Anycase, 15minutes later we are at Dassen Island, greeted by a school of yellowtail kingfish smashing bait on the surface, with birds dive-bombing into this melee!!!! Two other boats were also spearing in the area, but they were occupied by other schools!!!! Jumped in, 15degrees water, about 8m viz, and plenty of fish!!!! Blessed a nice fish with the Rabitech steel, and then went looking for some more action!!! Alas, with such a great start, thing started getting worse. Schools were very skittish, you'd run past the working birds, noting the direction the schools were moving, then jump in ahead of them, swim into the action and spear!! HARD work, and the schools would change direction just before you got to them!!!! One tactic that worked was to have the boat drop us about 50m in front of the school, then if the school turns away, the boat goes around them, chasing them back towards us.

Ended up with a couple of fish, spent an hour or so diving with a baby whale, who seemed to follow the boat where-ever we went!!!!

Not bad for a winter spearing trip. Thankfully summer is around the corner and we should be able to shoot some decent Yellowtail Kingfish!!!

Regards
miles

[miles]

Fish piccy's

Oh, biggest was a 7kg Yellowtail Kingfish

[Rolando]

Ahhh, The RABBI "Blessed" again....nice fish dude, keep it up and as always; "Watch your six"!

[mishu1984]

better be followed by a baby whale than a great white...

nice fish dude! makes me want to go out but Francis says i cant...

[miles]

Hiya

The weatherman predicted a 6-10m swell in the deep with 40knot winds and lots of rain. Water was a cold 11 degrees in False Bay and there was a HUGE swell running all down the coast.

Did what anybody else would do..........went fishing!!!!! Sea wasn't too bad, water was a warm 16degrees and dirty brown, from the sediment stirred up by the howling wind. Was raining AND had some hail as well!!!! OUCH!!!

Regards
miles

[Memo]

wonderfull fishes miles!

[Capespearo]

Nice Kob Miles ! Are those Red Stump quite big cause they make the Romans look tiny.Where did you get the fish ? Was it around Seal Island ? Also are those Elf in there or Maasbankers.Wish I had the knowledge you do for the fishing spots cause my freezers been empty for a while now with the bad conditions lately !

[miles]

Hiya

Spring has finally arrived, only to bring some unseasonal (read crappy !!!!) weather. The week-end looked good for our first juant to the deep. After months of cold water, big seas, small yellowtail kingfish, a good dive was sorely lacking!!!! Re-check the weather on Friday and it looked like a good day on Sunday. Boat was packed, guns double checked, knots re-tied,etc,etc

Sunday morning, after pulling a 36hour shift (agian no sleep!! ) we left for the sea. At the slip, wing was HOWLING 24knots South East!!!! (that wing is affectionately known as THE CAPE DOCTOR!!, and only knows two strengths, no wind or PLENTY wind!!!) Not a good start. Kitted up anyways and had breakfast whilst waiting for the sun to rise so that we could see what the water was like.

Sun rise, wind had dropped to 19 knots and i made the call.....................its off to the deep we go!!!! Crew started to mumble something about their skipper being insane. (i'm used to that!!!!) Anycase, the 40nm trip started off rather bumpily!!! After about 10nm the sea flattened and the wind subsided enough to give a pleasant ride out. At this point, the water was a chilly 13degrees. About 2 hours later we finally find the warm, blue 18degrees water. Plenty of life, bait being chased, birds dive bombing, small albacore (longfin) and skipjack jumping out of the water!!!!!!!!!!!

We run a bit further and i pick up a school of fish on the echo, guys scambling to put their kit on whilst Girlfriend is handling the boat. She immediately throws some chum into the water.

I jump in and start to unwind my bungie from my float. Whilst busy a 90-100kg YF tuna swims around me eating the chum!!!!! Scores of BIG tuna are feeding just a bit lower down!!!!!!! AWESOME sight!!!!

So now i've got the 3x16's my 58" mid handled woodie loaded. Fish are extremely fast and i end up missing that 90-100kg fish!!!!!!!!!!!Arghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! Oh well, at least i saw them!!!! My buddy is using my 63" Mid handled wooden, and also finally manages to load the 4x16's. By now the fish has gone down...................

[miles]

We drift a little longer and again they rise to the chum!!!!! These brutes are so big that they aren't scared of a diver!! I aim......and let her rip!!!!!!!!! Slip tip deploys and the fish decides to try and bury its head in the sand 400m below us!!!!!!!!!! "FISH ON!!!!!" i screamed to the boat. GF now collects my gun and the fight can start. Fish takes all the bungie (25m) and stretchs it out to about 60-65m, then starts towing me around whilst a hang onto the boogie board!!!!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!

10 minutes of this pass, then 20minutes, then a half an hour!!!!! My arms are paining, back is complaning, hands are cramping and still no sight of the fish!!!!!! About 40 minutes later, i see him. Glowing silver, with those two HUGE sickle fins that are shining like gold!!!!!!!!! My buddy now passes me my 115cm Rabitech with omer pelagic reel. I load, dive down and place a second shot through the gills, out by the opposite gill plate. BIG MISTAKE...............fish now dives again and 20 minutes later i've got it next to the boat. Buddy gaffs the fish, whilst other buddy puts another gaff into the tail. I take my knife out........as i brain the fish, i give way, knowing that in its death throes, YF Tuna become very violent. Fish rips off both gaffs and HEAD BUTTS me twice in the face!!!!!! 5 minutes later i've got the fish back in control, still with my OMER flat hunt knife sticking out of its head!!! Two gaffs in again and into the boat she comes!!!!!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The rest of the day is a blurr of non-stop action and adrenaline. Bent spears, both 7mm and 8mm, are the only casualties of the day!!!!!!

Final tally:
Miles 74kg's and 55kg's
Maruis 72kg's
Henni 82Kg's

Not bad for our first Tuna trip for the season!!

Regards
miles

[miles]

The small one:

My 55kg YF tuna

[miles]

Catch of the day:

[Iyadiver]

YES !!!!!!! BEAUTIFUL

Keep it up Miles, you will land SA record soon. Congrats !!!
Keep the stories coming...... YUM YUM
Where's the 74 * 82kg photo.........

[miles]

Henni with his 82kg fish!!!!!!!!!!

[miles]

Maruis with his 72kg YF Tuna

[Iyadiver]

Just dead goergous.......