I live in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. Jakarta faces the Java sea at the North, so no tuna and a big garbage of sea. Almost lifeless. Only wrecks, FAD and oil rigs worth going. I am not allowed to go to the active oil rigs anymore, they will arrest me next time the catch me diving there...what a lousy luck !!! I envy the freedom u guys get in the US for being allowed legally to fish the oil rigs. If I can do oil rigs again, I will be the happiest spearo in Jakarta. Our closest decently good spot is also 125 miles one way but not in the middle of the sea, it is a rock pinacle by an island that faces the Indian Ocean.
If I drive by car for 4 hours, I can also get the Indian Ocean. This is 250 miles by boat..one way. So car drive and boat small boat charter, makes more sense. This is where I done all my Tuna fishing years ago but then I was only owning a pneumatic and JBL so shooting Tuna is way too exotic. I also fear bottomless blue water and most of my friends told me that I am sick if I want to hunt tuna the way I want to fish them. Now that more of us own Riffes fro the past 1+ year , we feel we have the fire power.
Just add Standard#4 to my collection and that is as powerful as ur MT5 when u replace ur muzzle with the blue water aluminum one.
Going to the Indian Ocean side is very heavy on my wallet cause my friends boat is in the Java sea. So I go to this garbage Java sea often cause I just relax, catch some sun an happy to just look for rainbow runners and pay dirt cheap. All night long partying is another strong reason to go...he he he. If is so unfortunate my gang and I have not own the Riffes when we did the oil rigs ( +- 50 dives there ), so much 10 kg up fishes were lost due to incomplete penetration. After buying Terry Maas books and watching freediving videos and now Deeper Blue forum, I learnt a lot and wish to learn to freedive cause it is more time in water that way. I am still a scuba hunter.
Anyway this Indian Ocean side only has tuna passing the area sometime late in the year. Only 2 or 3 months a year. The El nino have upset some weather cycles here. Tuna sometime get caught when I troll by certain popular reefs and in most cases we need to spot them by the birds. I love fishing tuna but I hate looking for them. I been fishing like 30 trips to this Indian Ocean side but Tuna as seen by feeding birds only available in the morning. From 6AM to about 8 or 9AM. Then, they dissappear. Later at about 5 to 6 PM, they feed again. It is so boring chasing them only like 6 or 8 times in a day as provided by the birds and many times we don't get hook up. Goin home NIL is more common that going home with fishes. We don't do bottom fishing, strictly trolling only.
I am sure the way I fish tuna should work for spearing too but Tuna don't wait for weekend and my friends need to work on weekdays, me...quite flexible.
Eversince I pursue specificaly rainbow runners by a deep 170 feet buoy, I kind of fear no more bottomless sea. My water viz is about 20 feet so, even at 60 feet water ....all look bottomless
My Indian Ocean side also not so sharky cause I seen the way traditinal fisherman catch small bonitos. They swim in big groups like 10 people. Each holding a bamboo which they hit and make noise. They somhow "guide " this 3kg bonito into the stand by net. I've always seen it from the boat. I have yet to see how they do it underwater. The water there is like anything from 100 feet to 4000 feet, mostly they are in the 2,000 - 4000 feet water when catching the bonito.......so this guarantee no shark to fear or else they would have lost legs. I dove the reefs there too and have not had any shark encounter. Eversince I got the Riffe, I been there only 5 times and the biggest my group caught was a 60 pounder Giant Trevaly and some Spanish Mackerel, see no Tuna or any classy fish. When time is right, this area hold Marlin, Wahoo and sailfish, not that much but sportfisherman do hook up.
The traditional fisherman on small sampan/canoe always catch Tuna up to 50 kg with handline. They use 200-400 lbs line. If the fish is too big, they just tie it on the boat and let the fish drag them till they tire. If you see the palm of the hands, it look like 100 grit sand paper. These are tough and poor people.
My area is not a fish heaven, Bali is not bad but too expensive to go.
If I do shot tuna in open water, I will want at least 2 guys watching my back and take turn shooting. This way there are always two guns loaded and ready to shoot any nasty predator......this is the game plan my friends agreed upon...........if the Tuna season start. My group and I are not in the iron ball category as some people in this forum that think a bull or a tiger is just a possible bother.........I am dead scared !!!
White tip and black tip is about the maximum.......YEP if only two.....if 4 or more.........I RUN !!!!!
Anyway I think where they are much meat like shrimp vessel, that should be a hot spot. Any fishing magazine like SPORTFISHING is a good lead, the methods of finding the fish is the same. A European guy with a small pneumatic landed a 100 lbs Blue Fin Tuna in Europe this way.......by the shrimp vessel.
That kind of deepwater oil rig u mentioned is known to carry Marlin and sailfish.........I think you will need at least 2 Riffe size floats if the fishes are 100+ lbs. If I recall correctly a fish can pull an energy level probably double its weight, some species more. The pros here should be answering ur question..........me enjoy typing...he he he
Regards,
IYA
