Yellowfin tuna spearfishing vid

  • That was sweet! Glad to see you getting out there and killing it. Looked like that dorado was trying to be a pain in the ass for you. Seemed to create quite a rat's nest of your floatline. Thanks for sharing!

  • Hi Philippe,
    Thanks for sharing. Just curios, but why don't you brain these fish in the water or as soon as you are back on the boat?

  • Yeah, but the bloke didn't do a great job with the club, I have to say. These are big animals, I personally feel, they deserve to to die fast.
    Maybe they weren't sure they could bleed them fast enough if they brained them? But the Japanese and the sashimi grade fishermen seem to have no problem with it and as a rule, brain and sometimes Iki-jime the whole spine right away. Maybe Virgil's catch simply didn't get bled at all? (I can think of one reason not to but I think it's one of those things bluewater hunters don't talk openly about).


    No matter what, I am still curious.

  • Ha, I did catch the few strikes that didn't quite do the job plus the few that popped "back to life" on the boat. I am with you, I like a quick swift death. I will not pass judgment, however, as I presume he has his reasons (one being, as you mentioned, the bleeding process). Do the Japanese really iki-jime the whole spine on these big guys? I've seen them do it on smaller catch. Some of those guys are quite impressive with their skills of putting a fish down.


    What is the one reason you are thinking that isn't regularly discussed?

  • Thank,s for your feed back and suggestions!:)


    My friend Sebastian Melani accepted to do the 2 days boat trip because he trusts my all kind of tuna species hunting experience.


    Few spearos have been diving in the archipelago Island Marias located off the state Nayarit coast. Because of two main reasons:
    -this area is located too far at about 80 to 100 miles off the coast
    -there are two deserted islands + one island with a federal jail holding only greatest narco dealers and cartel boss
    this area needs to be pretty careful while boating in possible restricted area or in making a possible mistake in a quasi militarized zone...


    So I did diving most of the time solo and preferred to avoid playing the butcher’s boy in waters with tuna and sharks...

  • Thanks for elaborating. Sounds like an interesting place, haha.


    Here's my personal take on this and since I have never shot a big fish, my opinion may not matter, but I do think other potential viewers of you videos might feel the same: It doesn't look as respectful as it could when you pose with fish that have not been killed yet or when we see them thrown in a holding box still flapping. Others may not care, but I like videos where I know the fish has been killed fast. If you don't want to brain it in the water, you - or the boat boys - can do it as soon as the fish is on the boat.


    But I am a softie this way, I even sometimes brain other peoples fish on boats (if they let me).

  • Philippe, thanks for sharing the video and explanation. That's an impressive shark bite.


    One way to see it is Philippe needs to get the fish out of the water as soon as possible. At the same time he can't control how the people handle the fish on the boat once they're handed off. People who work with fish often have a callous attitude. You can try to explain that you want the fish dispatched quickly but they will just not see it as important. And it may create tension. Unless they are under your control because you're paying for every aspect of the outing. I get the feeling Philippe goes to some places where he's lucky to get access to in the first place, maybe not the right time to be demanding.


    Other than that I agree, I don't like to see fish suffer needlessly and will dispatch them quickly if it's safe to do so.

  • Dan, good thoughts. Especially on the "not creating tension and no room to be demanding" thing.


    (Btw, I think the bite pic may just be for illustration purposes. I am not so sure it is from that trip, but I get the point;-))

  • Yup, there's the thick mono coming out of the spine.
    Some fish buyers want to see that mono as proof of the Tanaguchi/Iki method. The idea is that the "butcher"/fisherman on the boat inserts mono or wire through the full length of the spine to destroy the nerves there. This stops the fish from bruising itself by flapping around on the deck which can happen even after the fish has been clubbed and brain spiked. For the same reason, the "sashimi boats" have foam or rubber pads on their decks.


    Normally, they "should" insert it right after spiking. I think the order is more or less like this:
    Club fish on the side of the boat, land it, brain spike, cut arteries behind pectoral fins, insert wire/mono. Then gut and remove head and freeze instantly. That's how the sashimi fish buyers ideally want it.
    I think they even have some hollow brain spikes that can guide the mono into the front end of the spine while the head is still attached. Sometimes, they just cut a coneshaped hole in the front of the head.

  • Dan, I think that was wonderfully put. Sharky waters your first thought is to get the fish out of the water. Being outside your home turf your first thought is keeping your captain and crew happy by not rocking the boat.


    I get blown away by those sashimi guys. The care they take in handling is impressive. To top it off they do it in record timing. I was semi-recently watching a sashimi market documentary. A single fish can go for an ass ton. That one was cool to watch.

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