THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

cameras, this went into a rucksack with the rest of my gear for the hazardous climb down to the spot,
where in the past, Grant had shackled himself to a rope tied around a rock with a short lanyard to play
and land his big tuna, a fish which took in excess of 6 hours to beat.
Now that's dedication, as is the rest of the safety kit he carries, the months of gym training he does in
the run up to these visits to be able to cast his huge poppers all day every day, and his deliberate
avoidance of huge amberjacks, black jacks and almaco jacks, which might detract from the sole
objective of big tuna or nothing.
We fished it a couple of times. Initially I wouldn't do down. Myself and Dave Devine went off elsewhere
in the car, returning later to pick up Kev and Graeme who'd managed to get down. When we got back,
Kev held up a tuna of around 35 pounds which he'd literally just caught.
Needing to get a picture, I decided to brave the descent, then while he was getting himself sorted out, I
had a few casts with his rod, one of which had a missed hit is the middle of a water boil the size of
dinner table. Tuna, most definitely. Monster tuna, very probably. Disappointed, not really. Posing a
monster fish for the camera is one thing. Getting beaten up for the next several hours just to be in that
position is completely another matter altogether.
Before we flew home, on the last day, Graeme and myself popped in to the conservation lab to talk to
a young lady there who was involved in a government backed research project looking at age to growth
rates, sexual maturity, and gut analyses, in the many tuna that were brought in every day.
Interestingly, what she did say was
that the black triggerfish, which
abound in their millions tight up to
the shore, feature heavily in the
stomach contents of the very biggest
tuna, which might help explain why
shore anglers, inshore spear
fishermen, and boat anglers working
very close in seem to catch the
biggest fish. Also why dark coloured
poppers work so well.
We also pushed her on rumours
regarding the planned issuing of
long-lining permits which she did
not want to talk about. In fairness to
her, despite being privy to the
discussions, this wasn't her
responsibility. But appreciating that Graeme Pullen, Rainbow Runner from the beach
it would be a very touchy subject,
nobody was willing to say anything other than hint that the income generated was necessary to finance
more infrastructure on the island, and to finance further conservation research in the future, which to
my mind is a complete contradiction of the definition of the term 'conservation'.
Why risk damaging a perfectly balanced, protected, and productive fishery in that way. It makes no
sense. Not only tuna, but sharks, marlin, and many other species are also going to be at risk. So if you
fancy fishing Ascension, better get over there quick before it's too late. The writing it would seem is
very clearly now on the wall.
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