Northern Bluefin Tuna

Just thought i might share this with everyone,

Shot this fish late last year north east of Mackay while diving for reef fish on a deeper wreck.  I was only using a 1m rail gun with a small rig set up. Tell you what this fish took off like a bullet.   I had been shooting (trying to) a few trout off a wreck in dirty water. I was on my way back to the surface when this tuna came charging past, i quickly placed a shot though it was poor at that. As soon as the shaft had hit the fish and all my rig was gone.

The funny part about it was that the yacht tender was out of fuel and i had 50m of chain out on the yacht. For the next 5 mins i was pulling the anchor chain up plus trying to spot where my rig with tuna attached were going, then it was off at 6knts in hot pursuit of the fish. In the end i caught up to the fish 1/2nm form the wreck. We cooked it up on some hot stones next to a fire on the beach that night. It was so nice to eat, just shows that you never know what and when that great fish will swim past. Just have to be in the water. :)

Northern Bluefin TunaOpenNationalTony HeughMoreton Island 25-07-2006 21.760 kg

Distribution - Longtail tuna, also known as northern bluefin tuna, is a tropical species that frequently occurs in more southern waters of Australia's east and west coasts during summer. They are generally distributed throughout waters of northern Australia, from CocKBurn Sound in Western Australia to southern NSW (Twofold Bay, Eden).

Size - Longtail tuna reach a maximum length of 1.5 metres and up to 32kg in weight. The majority of fish caught by anglers weigh less than 15kg.

Characteristics - Longtail tuna are a member of the family Scombridae. These dark blue-backed fish are recognised by their short pectoral fins and slender bodies. Longtail tuna are also distinguished by the presence of elongated, colourless spots on the underside and belly, between the pectoral and anal fins.