This has been a weird week indeed. The GTs were not too happy to snack on a popper on the surface while they seemed to be gathering in large numbers in crowded "balls" right around the drop off. Mating season maybe? It very much looked like, and this complicated the things for us a bit. Funny enough, even the other usual reef dwellers were not there. Snappers, Groupers and many other animals were deserting the usual feeding plains, in favour of deeper waters.
What might have influenced such behaviour is not really clear but there are some hints we can evaluate. First of all there has been an heartquake in Indonesia the week before our arrival. Nothing happened to the Maldives, no Tsunami or alike, but is possible that the fish noticed that. And another clue was the water temperature, pretty much below the average, with changes of current that would change the pattern of an area from one day to another.
Anyway, fish we caught indeed. The Dogtooth Tunas were especially cooperative, with two large specimen landed on jigging gear. Yes, jigging. This seemed to be the technique to use during the "foul" week, and this produced most of the fish and sure enough the biggest.
Great safari anyway, we are used to the high standards of the MV Madivaru crew and is always a pleasure the fishing and the off-fishing moments. Topping the bill the food and the after dinner time spent on the main deck all together.
