Tuna fishing

I was invited to join a spearfishing expedition looking for yellowfin tuna off Cape Point. The fish were reported to be close in, about 16 miles off the Cape Point. We met at 3:45am and launched the boat in the dark at 5:45am. As we headed to the Point, the phosphorescence in the water lit up the wake as if there was a huge blue light under the hull. We were off the Point radioing in our intentions to the lighthouse at about 6:30am.

Heading out to sea from Cape Point before dawn (hence the shaky image).

At about 18 miles off the point we hooked two small longfin tunas while trolling. Herman and myself hauled them in as we started chumming. There was no sign of yellowfin, so we stayed in the boat.
Several hours later, we hooked a yellowfin. Herman hauled it in and I started chumming. This entails chopping up pilchards and lobbing a piece overboard every five seconds. Spending an hour with your hands elbow deep in a bucket of bloody pilchards, while on a heaving sea, is not for those with tendancies towards seasickness.

Herman and Chad eventually got the fish on board. We estimated it as about 45kg. The biggest fish I have seen. While I kept chumming (as the newbie), Chad and Herman jumped in with spearguns. They saw a couple big yellowfin, but pretty rapidly decided that the conditions were not good enough for successful spearing. So we slowly headed back after a long day out there, reentering Cape Point at about 3pm.

After cleaning fish and the boat, we were back home at 7pm. That night there was sashimi and fresh tuna steaks!!