Spearfishing a Lucky Yellowfin Tuna

My Lucky Yellowfin Tuna 27kg

When you think of spearfishing Yellowfin Tuna you generally think of Cape Town. Yes sure guys get the odd Tuna here on the North Coast, but it is the exception and not the rule.
For years I have always envied the guys who have gotten Yellowfin Tuna on spear here on our coast. It did not matter if it was a luck shot or skill, I still envied them.

It's not like I have not had some chances, but generally the tuna just don't hang around to get a shot in and you land up watching the tails swim away with out even getting a shot off. At best you prick the fish and they zoot off leaving your spear behind. The small ones in shoals are easier, but we seldom get shoals so shooting one is rare.

The most common place we see the bigger Tuna following the Dolphins. This does not make them easier to shoot, its just when I have seen them the most and gotten half a chance. Too often I have been watching the pod of Dolphin and suddenly noticed the Tuna and before I can get in hunt mode the fish is gone.

So for the last few years I  have tried to be more vigilant when seeing Dolpin knowing that in an instant I might get a smal window and an opportunity on a dream fish. So when coming off the bottom this morning and seeing some tuna swim over head my mind kicked into gear ..... I must admit I thought that this was going to be another fruitless chase.

About 5 or so Tuna of about 10kg, well so I though swam over me when I had just turned to return to the surface. I was thinking do I try chase them, them moved out of range very quickly.  'Oh well just another shoal of fleeting tuna I won't get a shot at' ... well so I thought. I carried on for the surface when I noticed a Dolphin, then another one. Dolphin + Tuna = Opportunity

So I turned my attention to the Dolphin changing direction towards them with speargun at the ready. They quickly darted off as they don't like to be confronted head on. Again I thought opportunity lost, then another Dolphin came in at speed. It turn way before reaching me and behind it where 2 Tuna. The Dolphins sudden turn blind sided the Tuna and before they realised it they were swimming past me.

I stepped on the gas and tried to close the gap but they were not getting any closer. I figured they were 10kg fish and with in range so before my eyes popped out my head from lack of air I would do the ol 'flyershot' and see where the cards fall. They were fairly far away so I aimed high and squeezed off a shot.

Joy!! The speed line disappearing into the murk is a great feeling. "Gee this reel is emptying fast." next the beltreel and that ran out just as fast. "Damn the Dolphin have the fish!" well a 10kg fish cant pull that hard! So tried to put on the breaks only to have my hands burn ...Damn Dolphins!!
Then it just stopped, there was still weight , but very little movement. I though the Dolphins had left it, but next thing it goes again.

Now normally my routine is shoot the fish with one gun, swim back to the float and get the other gun ... even if all let all my line out. This way I dont loose the fish while landing it if the shot was bad. In this case I didn't get that memo and before I knew it the current and fish had pulled me at least 50m from where I had reefed up.

Eventually I worked my way towards the fish and I could see the shooting line knot coming up followed by the fish. *^$@ its huge! Oh Crap ... and my shot bad! But it looks pretty poked, so I will just grab the tail. I tried to get the best grip possible on the tail but it just shook me off and bolted off again. This was when I realised I really could do with my other gun, but it was 50m away.

So I let the line back out and swam for the float, keeping an even tention on the fish. Long story short, I get the gun, get back to the fish and plant a solid second shot and secure the fish. Super stoked with the fish, I realise that it is 'sushi' time so I bleed the fish while swimming back to the float. The blood eventually slows and I dispatch the fish with a knife to the brain, and get the fish on my stringer.

Next thing the fish takes off, 2 guns and spears, float, 8 crayfish, and Snoek all straight to the bottom! Then back to the surface and then it throws in a couple twists, tuns and some chaos for good measure. Now I have 60m of reel line, about 70m of belt reel line and the second guns shooting line all in a knot .... epic!

Eventually I sort everything out and start to plot my long journey home .... but thats a long and boringly painful story. It dawns on me, this is a seriously 'lucky' fish. Yea sure there might have been some skill involved. But like most game fish there is a serious amount of luck involved.

I was 'lucky' :

• The Dolphin blind sided the Tuna
• My high shot was high (damn gun it too accurate and the spear did not drop as I thought) or I doubt the spear would have gone all the way trough as the fish was bigger than I thought.
• The high shot got some good though tendons and skin to hold onto.
• The Dolphins did not capitalise on an easy meal.
• I was able to get my second gun ...
• And of course right place at the right time.

So I finally get my Yellowfin Tuna off the tail of a Dolphin ... probably another ten years before I get this right again.

Coatesman

Ascension Island Yelowfin Spearfishing Trips - CLICK HERE

Spearfisherman Attacked by Dolphins!

Common Bottlenose Dolphins off the North Coast - pic Robin

Common Bottlenose Dolphins off the North Coast
Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water! Out come the North Coast 'Killer' Dolphins!!

No Seriously the local pod of dolphins off the north Coast area are rather aggressive. Here is a mail that was past onto me:

...have you guys received any “stories” of being molested by dolphins on the North Coast? Yesterday I went for a morning drift off the stairs at Sheffield Beach and when off the Christmas Bay point I got ‘mugged’ by a school of dolphins. It started out pretty mellow with me diving down in clean shallow water on the backline to check out the dolphins as they swam below me. The dolphins turned over as they sometimes do, presenting their undersides, and sort of nodding their heads, ‘smiling’ and looking upwards at me. I was enjoying swimming with them at close range all the while listening to them whistling and smiling back at them when suddenly the biggest one swirled out of the formation and buzzed me as a shark would. I got the fright of my diving life as it effectively somersaulted me over in its ‘prop wash’ as I fended it off. I headed for the surface a bit surprised by the sudden show of aggression and when I looked down the whole school took the big guy’s lead and surrounded me, making a heck of a racket and taking turns darting in at me. It was bloody intimidating to say the least and effectively ruined the remainder of my dive as I was continuously looking over my shoulder.

I did have a snoek on my float which I had pulled in close when I heard them coming and the one tried to pick it off while the school was working me over. I can’t help but think that this is this particular school’s modus operandi and I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar encounter.

Clive Hockly

You might think that dolphins attacking is 'bull' but I have lost more fish in the last 10 years to dolphins than to sharks off our coast.

The one time I had a large female showing her young how to out whit me ... and she did just that. Another time it was a whole pod like in Clives case, but the most intimidated I ever felt was with a big bull dolphin. I am not sure if you have ever seen Gambit at the Durban Aquarium, he is about 500kg, this chap look like this... bigger than any shark I had seen.
This huge dolphin did not try and out maneuver me and sneak up like the others. He just confronted me straight on ...and very close. I tried to push and punch but he just bobbed and weaved out the way.

Here is an interesting fact: a large Bottlenose Dolphin will eat as much as 35kg of fish a day. And at the moment there is nothing keeping their population down, so when they see your fish ...they are thinking easy meal!!

Coatesman

Weekends Spearfish and Surfing Prospects.

Dolphins by Morne Muller

Had a fun surf this morning at Surfers, I saw Scotty and friends hitting Bog and figured ace out at Surfers would be better. I was joined by some other guys ... must have been the huge hacks to the lip that I was pulling off that attracted them. ... :-)

The vis is not that great but good enough for a point dive, the surf looks like it will be ok so there will be some fun to be had .... some where!!!

The east is going to blow from tomorrow mid day so get in early and Sunday ...... looks like a bit of a mess!!

Coatesman