Among other things, you may wonder, but with all the fish that is there, with those dimensions, what is the point of being so accurate. This is the crucial point.
Aside from being around Perth, there aren’t as many as you might think. However, the problem instead lies in the difference that exists in shooting a 1 or 2 kg fish, or having to deal with animals from 10 to 40 kg. In this case it becomes fundamental not so much to find them, approach them and hit them, but: manage them. Fighting in the water with a fish of that size even for 15 minutes (because it is badly shot) is not a pleasure and risks ruining your whole day. So the first rule is to try to kill them immediately with lethal throws, which do not give a chance and limit the fight to a minimum (both to avoid the same meat, or the call of uninvited guests …….). So think about if for example 3,
So, you aim at the brain, or rather on tap and if you are not sure of a good shot you let it go without bah or mah ….
As for the record of the Jewie fish record? I didn’t register it for a simple reason. Registration is managed by a group of poachers (fishing clubs) with whom we don’t want to have anything to do anymore. So we published an article in an Australian magazine with lots of witness names and measurements and it ended there.
As instead I announced in a previous message, on Saturday we had a couple of interesting meetings. Loaded (and deluded) from the previous Saturday me and Richard and Laurent to Jason in another boat early in the morning we flew to the same area. Of course, the conditions were completely different, the water was very dirty, 3 meters of swell and no Spanish mackerel (apart from a couple of light-speed switches completely ignoring us). Undeterred we continued to mist with the fish residues of the previous week and more with the hope that something would come closer. Apart from a couple of huge breeds (as big as a Fiat 500) for half an hour we didn’t see anything until a group of curls followed by a decent pair (17-20kg see photo) came closer and were happily harpooned . Having cleaned the fish and recharged more quickly, I see something on the bottom that resembles an amberjack but with a much bigger head, out of proportion to the body, so much so that for a moment I think it is one of the old specimens that sometimes roam around and that let go as full of parasites.
Going down in complete fluency I try to get closer to the fish to see it better (without concentration), but with great surprise about 10 meters away this rocket part, but gives me time to recognize it. Richard, who barely glimpses the scene from the surface, understands the reason for my imprecations as I ascend. It is a snapper of the size never seen, so much so that after a few minutes I still doubt what I saw. In fact, considering the size of the amberjacks I don’t think it was less than 17 kg plus. A MONSTER. (Remember that our snappers have a monstrous hump on their head)
We continue to wander for another half hour when a hammerhead shark reaches the surface at two meters. I already dream of a trance, but as soon as he reaches 5 meters he turns and walks away in a hurry …. patience will be for next time.
We decide to go and get the lobsters. It must be the day. In fact Richard removes a little rock from the top of the cylinder that he has never seen before and he takes me off, making sure that at least a couple of lobsters should be there. After the first dive I advise him to drop the anchor and come and give me a hand to push them from one hole to another. Moral of the story as you can see from the photos we take the 12 lobsters allowed in record time.
The water is increasingly murky and the swell rises we decide to return. In the distance we see Laurent and we approach. Even the “French without fear” has decided to pull the oars in the boat: in fact he tells us that about 10 minutes before a hammerhead shark of 3.5 m loaded it tearing a buffalo fish from his hands and did not allow him to remain further in aqua. Knowing Laurent the situation must not have been nice. He shows us his catches: a beautiful Yellow Tail on 20 kg and a couple of small Jewies. We say goodbye and make an appointment for dinner.
