Big Bluefin Are In!!!!

[shaneshac]

We have bagged 5 tuna this week on rod and reel.

1 of 298 kilos. 2 of 270 kilos. 1 of 180 kilos and 1 of 170 kilos.

How would I go about catching one fo these with a gun. Is it possible????


We can see the tuna breaking the surface so divinf infront of the school should not be a problem.

As a med spearo whose usual fish are no larger than 5 kilos what should I do.

Thanks

Shane

[ivan]

Originally posted by shaneshac
We have bagged 5 tuna this week on rod and reel.

1 of 298 kilos. 2 of 270 kilos. 1 of 180 kilos and 1 of 170 kilos.

How would I go about catching one fo these with a gun. Is it possible????


We can see the tuna breaking the surface so divinf infront of the school should not be a problem.

As a med spearo whose usual fish are no larger than 5 kilos what should I do.

Thanks

Shane

Hi shane

A 298kilo fish WOW what did you do with all that meat.

I have not shot Tuna like that, but you would have to have at least 3 foam floats with lots of bungee in between. Unless you have a slip tip im not so sure how your spears on your euro guns would hold up against a fish like that, maybe you will have to try for a stone shot or no shot at all. Do you own/have access to bigger guns.

cheers

[Murat]

If you brave enough and have much confidence to pull the triger to those giants. Just go and buy any Bluewater gun with proper terminal gear.
If you have access to those giants and you put your life to spear one,don't even think about the money. Just buy the best gear available and reduce the risk of loosing fish or even your life.

[shaneshac]

Murat,

Would a Totemsub Tahiti with 2x 20mm bands have enough power to penetrate one of those monsters?

[ivan]

Originally posted by shaneshac
Murat,

Would a Totemsub Tahiti with 2x 20mm bands have enough power to penetrate one of those monsters?

Sure it will penetrate if you get close enough, but your biggest concern is how your spear is going to stop from being snapped.

cheers

[shaneshac]

Didn't even think that would be a concern. Shows what I know about blue water hunting.

Well thanks for that or I would have learnt the hard way.

How would you solve that problem???

[ivan]

hi Shane

The only way to avoid snapping a shaft on a fish like that is by using a detachable head or a slip tip. The only problem is they are hard to find for euro guns, actually I dont know any that are commercially made. I made a home made slip tip for my Rob allen it is not so hard but takes some time.

Im sure you know the basic way the slip tip works, i will describe anyway. When we shoot fish with our normal euro spears the barb opens and the fish swims off and the shaft flexes due to water pressure and fish power/speed. With a tuna that big the shaft will almost certainly snap at the notches almost immediately, with the slip tip the shaft penetrates then as it comes back through the tip slides off the adapter and toggles leaving the cable with attaches the tip to the adapter. This takes the pressure off your spear cos of the cable between the tip and spear.

Your crimps will also be of concern, as well as the type of shooting cable you are using. If a fish that big is not stoned the pressure it puts on the crimps and shooting cable as it pulls your floats down will be enourmous.

Have you read the Wr Tuna story about that Paulo Gaspar guy, im pretty sure he stoned that huge Tuna however he was using a slip tip, Maybe you could get a local Metal worker to machine up a custom slip tip for you. My home made slip tip worked fine until I decided to change the material that hook the tip to adapter and it got cut off on sharp coral.

Im sure someone know links to show you the basic slip tip design. The Bluewater hunting book by Terry maas is also a good read about the type of hunting that you plan on carrying out.

cheers

[shaneshac]

Thanks Ivan.

I will see if I can find any posts on making my own slip tip.

What thickness shaft would I need??

How many bouys would it take to hold one of these up!

[shaneshac]

Oh I Forgot to mention that Picasso are now making a slip tip of their own.

Does anyone know if they are for euroshafts?

[Murat]

Originally posted by ivan
Sure it will penetrate if you get close enough, but your biggest concern is how your spear is going to stop from being snapped.

cheers

Probably yes, but do you want to risk it? If you want to shot them with tahiti you better to buy big one. I am not sure if tahiti can handle 2*20mm. Before you go the hunt make sure you learned the anatomy of that fish. Its absolutelly neccessary to make most effective kill shot. Try to learn some behaviour about them. For example how stalk them or what they generally do after speared. I read Gaspar's story that after he speared tuna it broke through water and jump to him. The giant fish almost knock him on his head.

[Murat]

Originally posted by ivan
hi Shane

The only way to avoid snapping a shaft on a fish like that is by using a detachable head or a slip tip. The only problem is they are hard to find for euro guns, actually I dont know any that are commercially made.

In the past OMER made one but i dunno if they are available anymore.

Or you can buy Riffe threaded euro shaft and use kitto / wong slip tip. Wong has low profile one that he is using on hybrids.

[shaneshac]

The onll problem is that the shipping costs, from USA or Hawaii to Gibraltar, are Stupid. Will have to find someone going on holiday to get me one.

Do slip tips stay in the fish if they don't penetrate to the other side?

[Murat]

Originally posted by shaneshac
The onll problem is that the shipping costs, from USA or Hawaii to Gibraltar, are Stupid. Will have to find someone going on holiday to get me one.

Do slip tips stay in the fish if they don't penetrate to the other side?

I definatelly know what you mean mate. But we also have %60 duty and need special license to buy import speargun. Doesn't matter if its only one. But surprisingly we have Riffe dealer in greek side of the island. They have only standart series in stock. But they can bring another model if you wish. You better to check ticket prices to cyprus and you break free from shipping + duty fee.

[Shadowkiller]

Originally posted by Murat
I am not sure if tahiti can handle 2*20mm.

Of course they can... its all a function of shaft thickness *insert Sven comment here*

Slip tips will toggle within a fish, say against the spine or under the skin but for maximum holding potential you want full penetration and a toggle on the other side of the fish.

Avoid the temptation to shoot the Tuna in the gillplates. Terry Maas tells the story in his book of how his tuna gun shaft bounced off a gillplate. Probably the best option is to shoot from behind the fish, slightly downwards so the shaft enters above the pectoral fin and exits near the gill area on the opposite side. That way you are doing max damage to the fishs blodd supply.

If you are going to use a euro gun setup for for a breakawy, at least a 7.5mm shaft and a gun length of at least 130cm. Thats the RobAllen setup that has taken Marlin, Sailfish and Dogtooth in the past.

[ivan]

Originally posted by shaneshac
Thanks Ivan.

I will see if I can find any posts on making my own slip tip.

What thickness shaft would I need??

How many bouys would it take to hold one of these up!

Hi

On one of my videos a 60-70kg Dogtooth tuna pulls 2 floats down, one is a Boogie board type float and the other is just a normal oval shape float, the tuna snags the rig on the reef at 50m+ and breaks the line.

I have read many stories about Greg Pickering (Current Yellowfin Wr holder) and others who dive the islands off mexico, they report Tuna of 200lbs pulling 3 foam floats down into the blue easily, they will wait on the surface till the floats hopefully pop up and chase them down and fight the fish.

I think monster Tuna that you have of 300kilos will require an excellent shot to be landed at all. If you use the right terminal gear and have foam floats you could possibly take a shot, jump in your boat have binoculars ready to hopefully spot the floats when they surface.

cheers