Catching and releasing a bluefin tuna has always been on my bucket list. To have this opportunity to swim and photograph with them was something in my wildest dreams.
Last month my coworker, Jack Vitek and I scraped up enough cash to buy an airfare to Nova Scotia to go fish with Captain Mike Tait and Brendan Doyle of Nova Scotia Tuna Charters. We only had a couple of days and were lucky enough to have very fair weather. Both Jack and I caught and released a tuna each day over the two days spent there — two estimated in the grander range.
The tuna were so abundant that we were hand-feeding them herring beside the boat. We were hypnotized by the majesty of such giant fish swimming beneath us. Each had their own personality, some shy, some bold. We had one with a red spaghetti tag follow us all day, in which we named Twizzler. The water was cold, but I jumped in anyways to capture some photographs and video for as long as I could stand from getting hypothermia.
The only problem with it all: how to figure a way to get back there. Not to mention, the amazing fishing and the awe-inspiring landscape. The people of Nova Scotia are some of the kindest, most hospitable people I’ve had the privilege to meet in my travels.
