Fishing Trip
Aaron Kirkconnell Scott and his big cousin Cameron. Same stoked smile on the first big yellowfin Tuna he has seen up close on his first bluewater trip
Yeah there were a few sharks around too....
Aaron and one of 8 Blackfin Tuna he shot in the few days we dove. He got the hand of it pretty quick and was only picking out the 25 lb'ers. Spoiled Rotten.
Aaron's first Wahoo at 50 lbs. I was on the surface beside him watching the whole thing screaming in the snorkel to swim towards them. On the drive over I had talked for 6 straight hours on how to hunt them and all the other bluewater fish, telling him things I don't even let on to my friends. He listened, and he already had a lot of raw skill and 15 years under his belt of being surrounded by the sport. He shot this first one from about 6 feet away and had his choice of the entire school. Mad skills. I'm scared he is going to be better than all of us...
Still smiling 6 months later I'm sure
Admittedly this one was a fluke. I was looking for Wahoo and a school of 10 big Yellowfins came up. I had the camera in my left hand and made the dive following them to a whopping 56 ft to take the shot. They all had long sickle fins back to their tails so I knew they were 130+lbs and was praying they were bigger. With a single Riffe 2 Atmosphere float and a 100 ft bungee I had him up within three minutes and Aaron put the second shot in him. Chad had the video camera so for fun I brought him up while he was very much alive and as he came to the surface snatched his tail out of the water. Predictably he went batshit and made a circle of whitewater about ten yards wide. His tail beat against my left bicep so fast and hard it was like getting hit with an axe. When I finally let him go my glove and my brand new dive knife got caught in the cable and I lost them both. Could have been my hand, or my leg or my neck. Just goes to show (practice what your preach) always kill your big fish before you try to get your hands on them. It happened the very next day with Lindsey grabbing a feisty one the same size and he lost all the bungee he had worked so hard to get to him and it took another 5 minutes to get the fish in.
I won't be doing that again. It didn't even make my muscles look bigger
Chad Morris with a stud Wahoo. WE never seem to have a bad trip when we go together.
[caption id="attachment_482" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="32lb Blackfin Tuna shot with the pole spear. NEW WORLD RECORD!!! Super stoked. even more so because it was with a pole spear and I had the video camera in the other hand. I\'ll put it up on here asap so you stop calling BS on it. (For good measure I shot a 24 and 27 lb on video too. Not a bad day!)"]
[/caption]
Nothing better then seeing your friends happy. Chad Morris with the biggest fish of the trip and a huge smile on his face
_____________________
I got a call a few days ago to travel via some Local commercial fishing boats to some far off islands with only one other Gringo (Mark Healey) to hunt Tunas. Since then I have spent hours on end researching and rigging gear and it made me pull up some pics from the past few years hunting big tunas.
Hope you enjoy
Yellowfin Tuna have always been a part of every spearfishermans dreams.
I’ve been around the world looking for them and they still get my blood running thinking of seeing those yellow
finlets on the edge of visibility knowing that this is one of the most powerful fish in the ocean.
Here are a few pics from the past few years of some of our favorite fish in the sea
Nothing like the sight of a Big Yellowfin Tuna. All the colors and textures are lost quickly when they are brought to the surface but show well on this 180lb one
You'll only grab a Tuna once that isn't all the way finished. We learned the hard way in Mexico with Brandon trying to get a hold of a 65 lb'er and getting wrapped up in the shooting line after the fish took 3 quick turns around his legs and he had to cut himself free. Lost the fish but Brando is still alive so thats a plus. This is another 180lb'er or so in the Pacific
First view of one coming up from down deep is always wonderful. You are so tired from pulling and clipping to bring him up and you are still wondering if the shot is good or if the sharks are on him. Your buddy dives down to check him out and confirms that it is a big one and you get that second wind to haul him up the rest of the way.
Still all lit up. If I can I don't kill the fish all the way so we can take pics of it with all its colors. Too often in magazines the pics of fish are long dead and it looks like they have been killed a week before. If you tire the fish out and get him under control they will keep their colors in your hands for pics.
Swimming the big boys to the boat. You are so proud and so tired and your friends are so pissed that you just wasted 20 extra minutes taking pictures when they could have been up current shooting their own.
One of my first really big ones. Broke his spine with a Euro 140 with a 7mm shaft and only two bands. Not the right equipment for the job but I've landed 2-3 with it. You have to be close as hell to make it work. This guy jumped twice before I was able to grab his tail and keep him out of the water so the boat could gaff him. Awesome fish. I had so much adrenaline running through me I just wrenched him off the deck and into my lap. So stoked
costa-rica-cam-biting-tuna-in-boat
Big YFT. This was my first one over 200lbs and it was a beast. Really kicked my ass
Gulf of Mexico Yellowfin. Shows the cookie cutter shark on his right side really well.
4th dive of the day. This guy comes up and presents a perfect shot as he blazes past.
This is the one I stole from Mark Healey. We were both down about 60 feet away from each other and two big boys came through. This one made a move around the outside of us and I was able to intercept him before he swam off for good or came close enough to Heals. He is still pissed at me I think.
Love the long Trailers on the big ones. This is my best at 270+lbs.
Big one down in Mexico a few years back.
That is a lot of dead weight in your hands at the end of a long fight you are praying the boat is close so you can get a hand on the gunwale and let the boys sink the gaffs into him. You are so damn tired but so happy at the same time just after this they pull you in and you flop down beside the fish happy as you've ever been.
Big belly + Ling Sickle Fins = 250lbs Tuna or bigger
Close to the end of the fight ready for the second gun and a kill shot
_______________________________
Why you need an Official Scale. World Record Dogtooth Tuna
Yesterday I was moved to tears by the most incredible fish i have ever seen in my life.
Diving in Indonesia is one of the most frustrating and difficult projects I have ever embarked on and without an amazing amount of patience, stamina and skill there is no way that you can be successful in a diving environment such as this.
Starting the day we jumped in to a mere 4 knots of current and drifted for 4 hours landed two Dogtooth tuna 40 and 100 lbs which are both excellent fish in any locale.
Taking a break during the day we went and visited a deserted beach on a faraway shore and as we explored teh little spit of sand and the surrounding countryside Craig and I gave thanks for such a beautiful and unspoiled place on earth that we were able to enjoy.
With the two fish in the boat and our time expired we decided to head back to the mainland 2 hours away. Something in me felt wrong though and I persuaded the boat driver to stay another hour ($15 more) so that we could dive in the ever increasing current for one last shot.
With a rain squall coming hard on us and the visibility darkening we decided on one last drift. Craig had just broken one blade on his fin and told me, “This is the last drift, make it count, I’ll ride shotgun and bring the second gun so you can shoot your fish twice…”
5 minutes later i was relaxed and diving down through the warm surface layer to the cooler water below relishing the change in temperature that these type of Tuna love so much. At 50 feet i stopped kicking and glided down to find a school of dogtooth tuna surrounding me from 15 to 120 lbs. Patiently i glided deeper and caught sight of the black back of a slightly bigger one on the bottom at 90 feet. Passing the other smaller tuna the big fish turned slightly just as i reached the end of my float line and i squeezed the trigger.
Thunk!
The fish immediately shook his gills and then made two circles on the bottom banging the shaft against the coral in an attempt to break free of the object now lodged in his after half.
As the great fish strained for deep water i pushed hard for sunlight and grabbed my passing floats on the surface just in time to tell Craig, ” I shot a TOAD!!!!”
Nervous the the fish would pull out i fought him as gingerly as possible and within a few minutes we had him in sight. As he neared the surface I could see he was hurt bad but there was no way i was going to lose this fish and I grabbed my 115 Omer America with a reel from Craig, cocked it, dove and approached him. At 12 feet my lungs were screaming for air at the exertion of the last few minutes and I prayed that my shaking hands would aim true.. whoosh! The fish went stiff and i surfaced pulling the ever growing fish to me.
Oh my god. Oh my god.
I can’t wrap my arms around him! I have never screamed so loud in my life. The rocky cliffs a mile distant reverberated with the sound of my voice and then mingled with that of Craigs and the boat driver.
With a raging 10 kt current approaching I handed the tail of the fish to the boat driver and jumped in the boat to relieve him but even with Craig and I pulling we could not budge the fish from the water. Trailing the fish to calm waters the three of us pulled the beast into the boat and then there was complete silence.
Looking at the 6 ft long fish at my feet my mind shut down and I was flooded with emotion at what I had before me. Never in my life could i have imagined this possible. Craig and I stared in utter silent disbelief.
Dogtooth Tuna. What I have always preached as the most challenging and difficult fish in the world to land. Diving 30 miles from civilization in 6-10 kts of current. The whitewater rafting we had done the week before doesn’t even compare to the whirlpools and down currents and 5 ft standing waves we encounter every drift here.
I can’t describe to you how incredible this day is and how meaningful it is to me. Of all the fish in the world this is the one record i have coveted the most.
200.6 lbs. 6 feet long and 4.5 feet in girth.
I am the luckiest man alive.
Cameron
VIDEO:
World Record Dogtooth Tuna on boat
Craig Clasen Enormous Dinosaur of a Tuna and Cameron Kirkconnell
Craig and Solid Doggie over 100lbs and the Porpoise looking 201lb WR
The original topic: travel in the world
Aaron Kirkconnell Scott and his big cousin Cameron. Same stoked smile on the first big yellowfin Tuna he has seen up close on his first bluewater trip
Yeah there were a few sharks around too....
Aaron and one of 8 Blackfin Tuna he shot in the few days we dove. He got the hand of it pretty quick and was only picking out the 25 lb'ers. Spoiled Rotten.
Aaron's first Wahoo at 50 lbs. I was on the surface beside him watching the whole thing screaming in the snorkel to swim towards them. On the drive over I had talked for 6 straight hours on how to hunt them and all the other bluewater fish, telling him things I don't even let on to my friends. He listened, and he already had a lot of raw skill and 15 years under his belt of being surrounded by the sport. He shot this first one from about 6 feet away and had his choice of the entire school. Mad skills. I'm scared he is going to be better than all of us...
Still smiling 6 months later I'm sure
Admittedly this one was a fluke. I was looking for Wahoo and a school of 10 big Yellowfins came up. I had the camera in my left hand and made the dive following them to a whopping 56 ft to take the shot. They all had long sickle fins back to their tails so I knew they were 130+lbs and was praying they were bigger. With a single Riffe 2 Atmosphere float and a 100 ft bungee I had him up within three minutes and Aaron put the second shot in him. Chad had the video camera so for fun I brought him up while he was very much alive and as he came to the surface snatched his tail out of the water. Predictably he went batshit and made a circle of whitewater about ten yards wide. His tail beat against my left bicep so fast and hard it was like getting hit with an axe. When I finally let him go my glove and my brand new dive knife got caught in the cable and I lost them both. Could have been my hand, or my leg or my neck. Just goes to show (practice what your preach) always kill your big fish before you try to get your hands on them. It happened the very next day with Lindsey grabbing a feisty one the same size and he lost all the bungee he had worked so hard to get to him and it took another 5 minutes to get the fish in.
I won't be doing that again. It didn't even make my muscles look bigger
Chad Morris with a stud Wahoo. WE never seem to have a bad trip when we go together.
[caption id="attachment_482" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="32lb Blackfin Tuna shot with the pole spear. NEW WORLD RECORD!!! Super stoked. even more so because it was with a pole spear and I had the video camera in the other hand. I\'ll put it up on here asap so you stop calling BS on it. (For good measure I shot a 24 and 27 lb on video too. Not a bad day!)"][/caption]Nothing better then seeing your friends happy. Chad Morris with the biggest fish of the trip and a huge smile on his face
_____________________
I got a call a few days ago to travel via some Local commercial fishing boats to some far off islands with only one other Gringo (Mark Healey) to hunt Tunas. Since then I have spent hours on end researching and rigging gear and it made me pull up some pics from the past few years hunting big tunas.
Hope you enjoy
Yellowfin Tuna have always been a part of every spearfishermans dreams.
I’ve been around the world looking for them and they still get my blood running thinking of seeing those yellow
finlets on the edge of visibility knowing that this is one of the most powerful fish in the ocean.
Here are a few pics from the past few years of some of our favorite fish in the sea
Nothing like the sight of a Big Yellowfin Tuna. All the colors and textures are lost quickly when they are brought to the surface but show well on this 180lb one
You'll only grab a Tuna once that isn't all the way finished. We learned the hard way in Mexico with Brandon trying to get a hold of a 65 lb'er and getting wrapped up in the shooting line after the fish took 3 quick turns around his legs and he had to cut himself free. Lost the fish but Brando is still alive so thats a plus. This is another 180lb'er or so in the Pacific
First view of one coming up from down deep is always wonderful. You are so tired from pulling and clipping to bring him up and you are still wondering if the shot is good or if the sharks are on him. Your buddy dives down to check him out and confirms that it is a big one and you get that second wind to haul him up the rest of the way.
Still all lit up. If I can I don't kill the fish all the way so we can take pics of it with all its colors. Too often in magazines the pics of fish are long dead and it looks like they have been killed a week before. If you tire the fish out and get him under control they will keep their colors in your hands for pics.
Swimming the big boys to the boat. You are so proud and so tired and your friends are so pissed that you just wasted 20 extra minutes taking pictures when they could have been up current shooting their own.
One of my first really big ones. Broke his spine with a Euro 140 with a 7mm shaft and only two bands. Not the right equipment for the job but I've landed 2-3 with it. You have to be close as hell to make it work. This guy jumped twice before I was able to grab his tail and keep him out of the water so the boat could gaff him. Awesome fish. I had so much adrenaline running through me I just wrenched him off the deck and into my lap. So stoked
costa-rica-cam-biting-tuna-in-boat
Big YFT. This was my first one over 200lbs and it was a beast. Really kicked my ass
Gulf of Mexico Yellowfin. Shows the cookie cutter shark on his right side really well.
4th dive of the day. This guy comes up and presents a perfect shot as he blazes past.
This is the one I stole from Mark Healey. We were both down about 60 feet away from each other and two big boys came through. This one made a move around the outside of us and I was able to intercept him before he swam off for good or came close enough to Heals. He is still pissed at me I think.
Love the long Trailers on the big ones. This is my best at 270+lbs.
Big one down in Mexico a few years back.
That is a lot of dead weight in your hands at the end of a long fight you are praying the boat is close so you can get a hand on the gunwale and let the boys sink the gaffs into him. You are so damn tired but so happy at the same time just after this they pull you in and you flop down beside the fish happy as you've ever been.
Big belly + Ling Sickle Fins = 250lbs Tuna or bigger
Close to the end of the fight ready for the second gun and a kill shot
_______________________________
Why you need an Official Scale. World Record Dogtooth Tuna
Yesterday I was moved to tears by the most incredible fish i have ever seen in my life. Diving in Indonesia is one of the most frustrating and difficult projects I have ever embarked on and without an amazing amount of patience, stamina and skill there is no way that you can be successful in a diving environment such as this. Starting the day we jumped in to a mere 4 knots of current and drifted for 4 hours landed two Dogtooth tuna 40 and 100 lbs which are both excellent fish in any locale. Taking a break during the day we went and visited a deserted beach on a faraway shore and as we explored teh little spit of sand and the surrounding countryside Craig and I gave thanks for such a beautiful and unspoiled place on earth that we were able to enjoy. With the two fish in the boat and our time expired we decided to head back to the mainland 2 hours away. Something in me felt wrong though and I persuaded the boat driver to stay another hour ($15 more) so that we could dive in the ever increasing current for one last shot. With a rain squall coming hard on us and the visibility darkening we decided on one last drift. Craig had just broken one blade on his fin and told me, “This is the last drift, make it count, I’ll ride shotgun and bring the second gun so you can shoot your fish twice…” 5 minutes later i was relaxed and diving down through the warm surface layer to the cooler water below relishing the change in temperature that these type of Tuna love so much. At 50 feet i stopped kicking and glided down to find a school of dogtooth tuna surrounding me from 15 to 120 lbs. Patiently i glided deeper and caught sight of the black back of a slightly bigger one on the bottom at 90 feet. Passing the other smaller tuna the big fish turned slightly just as i reached the end of my float line and i squeezed the trigger. Thunk! The fish immediately shook his gills and then made two circles on the bottom banging the shaft against the coral in an attempt to break free of the object now lodged in his after half. As the great fish strained for deep water i pushed hard for sunlight and grabbed my passing floats on the surface just in time to tell Craig, ” I shot a TOAD!!!!” Nervous the the fish would pull out i fought him as gingerly as possible and within a few minutes we had him in sight. As he neared the surface I could see he was hurt bad but there was no way i was going to lose this fish and I grabbed my 115 Omer America with a reel from Craig, cocked it, dove and approached him. At 12 feet my lungs were screaming for air at the exertion of the last few minutes and I prayed that my shaking hands would aim true.. whoosh! The fish went stiff and i surfaced pulling the ever growing fish to me. Oh my god. Oh my god. I can’t wrap my arms around him! I have never screamed so loud in my life. The rocky cliffs a mile distant reverberated with the sound of my voice and then mingled with that of Craigs and the boat driver. With a raging 10 kt current approaching I handed the tail of the fish to the boat driver and jumped in the boat to relieve him but even with Craig and I pulling we could not budge the fish from the water. Trailing the fish to calm waters the three of us pulled the beast into the boat and then there was complete silence. Looking at the 6 ft long fish at my feet my mind shut down and I was flooded with emotion at what I had before me. Never in my life could i have imagined this possible. Craig and I stared in utter silent disbelief. Dogtooth Tuna. What I have always preached as the most challenging and difficult fish in the world to land. Diving 30 miles from civilization in 6-10 kts of current. The whitewater rafting we had done the week before doesn’t even compare to the whirlpools and down currents and 5 ft standing waves we encounter every drift here. I can’t describe to you how incredible this day is and how meaningful it is to me. Of all the fish in the world this is the one record i have coveted the most. 200.6 lbs. 6 feet long and 4.5 feet in girth. I am the luckiest man alive. Cameron
VIDEO:
World Record Dogtooth Tuna on boat
Craig Clasen Enormous Dinosaur of a Tuna and Cameron Kirkconnell
Craig and Solid Doggie over 100lbs and the Porpoise looking 201lb WR
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