Just got back. Managed to gash my hand open dispatching a mullet, so was only in for an hour & a quarter. The mullet was smaller than the one seen last week, so I initially estimated it a 2.5-3.5lb when my brother asked but it finally weighed in at 4lb and 56cm/22" - enough for a small dinner party
.
Vis was only poor to fair (milky & saw some green bloom, like in the spring too), although it made it easier to hide. Saw virtually no fish on the way out. Then, on aspetto, a shoal of about a dozen
large mullet came by -- all about the same size, 4lb-ish:t -- normally they shoot off when they see you but these came in a little closer. I kept focus on the same one & shot. He carried on swimming with the shoal so thought I missed (pretty hard as he had big mullet all around, so even if I missed, I would expect to hit something) but the spear line came tight - fish on! He was shot quite far back, so I wasn't sure how well he was speared (turns out he was on pretty solid) & pulled him in quick. I expected quite a fight but there was none. I cut the gills & then was just about to iki him with my dagger & he took off like a torpedo -- leading to me "dispatching" my hand:martial:crutch. Pulled him in, flipped him back over & dispatched it (it took about 7-stabs with the iki spike & I cut the other gills - friggin' Terminator mullet; are mullets' brains further back/forward/smaller than normal?). As the fish blood cleared, I noticed my own was pumping out of gash in my left glove. Peeled back the glove - 1.5" loong, deep, clean cut (knife is razor sharp).
Carried on diving for a while but thought it prudent to return to companions on shore. There was quite a strong tidal flow against me on the way back (not far though). So I broke it up with further aspettos. Not much about. Then suddenly a large shoal of
bass came in - much closer than normal. The first was a bit small (looked maybe 40+cm in the water but might have been less). The others were only a little bigger & started to get wary. I took a shot but missed. Didn't see much else (vis. was bad), just a handful of small
pollock & a few medium & small
wrasse.
Would have been a good day for a much longer dive (surprisingly warm & calm although not mill pond flat). But with the cut, the company on shore & one good size fish, I was happy enough to call it a day.
