19 May 2010

Recovered from a bout of flu and ready to dive again. The only thing that gets me down after recovering from a respiratory infection is how out of condition you get. Got news that there are some jewfish around the headlands and there is still a shot at some couta from the side. Kris contacted me and said mack tuna were thick off the North Wall. Grabbed gear and headed to harbour. there was a lot of activity and I kitted quickly and jumped in. Swam around a heap and found some good ground that should produce in the future. Potentially great area for jewfish just north of reef. Massive amount of whitebait being smashed by mack tuna and we picked up some for sushi. Apparently there have been some long tail tuna in the area too. Planning a great dive tomorrow.

Part of problem with getting these fast moving fish is being in the right place at the right time. We found that lying still and allowing the whitebait to collect around us allowed the tuna to come in. Feeding tuna move really quickly and it is near impossible to track them through the water. It is easier to line up when a school approaches and point the gun at where you expect the fish to be. Pull the trigger when a fish moves into position. Similar technique to aiming at a piece of burley when hunting yellowfin. There were some bonito and kingfish around too.