As the summer goes on, the temperature goes up. Then, they will gather in one area, somewhat like a plateau where the depth is only between seventy to about one hundred and twenty feet. Other depths are 200 or 300 feet and are too deep, too cold. The larger fish know where these tiny sand eels are and they all concentrate in the general area to feed upon them. The whales and tuna stay in the deeper area, but in the morning they come up to eat. One can honestly say it is their breakfast time. That breakfast place is where we are now going out and waiting.

Herring, mackerel and cod are smaller fish which tuna also feed upon. They all come around where the temperature is warm and where there is an abundant amount of sand eels. That is the area we are going to. The tuna, when they come in and out of the feeding area, have a certain approach where they tend to go in and out. That is where we want to place our boats. That is usually on the edge of the area, a ledge. Tuna do not like rough things, just like anything normal. So where there is a cliff, the tuna don't want to come there. Rather, they will come where there is a slope. They prefer a gradual slope and come in and out that way.

First you have to study the charts and see what kind of terrain there is, and then you have to go there and try it out. I spent a lot of time investigating this, scientifically and also intuitively. That is one reason why the New Hope has been catching lots of tuna, more than many other boats. Also the boats around New Hope have been able to catch a good number of tuna. For this reason, even people who are not Moonies try to fish close to the New Hope.

You have to know substantially about these things. You have to have an in-depth perception. You might say, "Well, the ocean is the same everywhere and the fish come here and go there and its a matter of sheer chance." Not so. Not at all. Chance is not involved. Tuna have a manner of doing things, they have habits. We have to understand about their habits. The smaller fish gather together where there is plenty of food, where there is shelter and they can hide and protect themselves.

These small fish move around by schools. You will see some schools that are miles wide and long, and hundreds of feet deep. The tide comes in and out and these schools move around with it. Sometimes the currents are very strong, while other times the currents are weak. The smaller fish go in very large schools for protection, and they are looking for places where they can hide, such as the very big rocks. There are many places like this in certain areas of the ocean and we have to study these kind of things if we are going to catch the kind of fish we want.

For example, we might want to catch striped bass. Sometimes the schools of very small fish are moving too fast because the currents and tides are pulling them, so the fish in front cannot slow down even if they want to. Instead of being able to hide behind a rock, they collide into it. This leaves them somewhat knocked out, dizzy, just like a man would be if he did the same thing to his head. This is where the striped bass hang around. When the small fish hit the rock and swim slowly about in a dazed manner, they are easier to prey upon. You can find striped bass in places like this. You have to think like the striped bass and then figure out the logical place where they will be.

Tuna fishing is the same. You reason everything out; you have to think everything through. Don't just go somewhere and throw your gear into the ocean and just hope the tuna will somehow get hooked. The small fish go with the currents. There are places along the ledge where the currents slow down. This is where the small fish go and where the larger fish come after them to feed. You have to look at the charts and find these places where there is a drop-off and the depths change sharply.

You have to perceive whether the bottom is a sandy, muddy or rocky bottom. There are different types of worms and small creatures. You have to study about that as well. Some live where there is seaweed and others where it is rocky or sandy. If you are going for the smaller fish, you have to understand what the bottom is like. The weight on the tackle is important in rocky areas. If you just throw the hook down there, it will get snagged. Sometimes you might get your gear back, but most often you have to cut your line.

To prevent that, you place your weight about ten feet below your hook and bait. Then, you have to imagine what your tackle will look like down there and be able to feel your weight when it hits the bottom. You have to have some sensitivity about that. And you have to consider the current pulling your hook and bait. If it isn't much, then it won't be ten feet above the weight. It will be more like five feet or just two feet. So, you have to be conscious how your bait will hang on the line and be able to judge from that how high from the bottom it actually is.

In Alaska, where there is halibut, I put my thoughts about this into practice and it worked very well. When I am out tuna fishing, I am always thinking like this, how to do things and what to do next. My mind is never idle. When I went fishing for halibut in Alaska I caught twice as much as the others. They wondered how I did it, but I didn't tell them. However, there isn't much to it. You just have to think, and when your assumption is right, you will catch the fish you are going after. You have to know the habits of the fish, the tendency of the fish and the terrain. The rest is logical reasoning. You think to yourself, "This is so and this must be it." You then try it out and you discover, "that must be it." That is how it works. In the ocean, there are different fish at different layers of the water. Fish live along the bottom and then a few feet above that, and then still above that there are other fish. At different layers and water temperatures, there are different types of fish. Fish are very sensitive. They want to live in the environment which suits them best. They don't live in unfavorable environments like man does. Generally, the differences in depth of water determine the difference in temperature. It tends to get colder as it gets deeper. The difference is only a little, but this difference means quite a bit to fish. Remember, the fish will also go where there is feed. Each different species of fish preys upon fish smaller than themselves. They never prey upon fish that are larger.

Someone may assume that whales and tuna are big fish, so they must be in deeper waters. But don't just assume that. Think of where they would feed. The smaller fish are up in the higher levels. Even if the tuna like to be down deep, they must come up to feed. And sure enough, they do. That's where we catch tuna the most. If you only drop your bait in the deepest waters, you will never catch them. The temperature of the water, the type of feed and the environment, especially where they can be protected, all determine where the fish are going to be. And also, fish spend some of their time playing and resting; that is where the water is still and calm. After they feed, they go to play. The afternoon and early evening are the times when they usually play around.

You have to think about the currents. The small fish don't want to feed in the fast moving currents. Even the large fish find it difficult to feed and swim in strong currents. A lot of this is learned through experience. However, you have to have some idea of things before you also experience them. On the other hand, even if you know the basic theory of something, you don't really know it until you experience it. Think about the moon. There are different phases to the moon. According to what it shows you, quarter moon, half moon or full moon, the tide changes. Every day of the month is not the same. Sometimes the tide moves more strongly. At high tide, the water moves faster. Look at the water mark. You can tell if it is the high tide of the month or the low tide of the month.

It means this. When you know it is high tide, but the water mark is still higher than that, you know that it is the low tide of the month. Do you follow? There is a six hour interval between the high tide and low tide. There is high tide, then mid-tide and then low tide. From low tide it goes back to mid-tide and then high tide. The cycle moves like this and it covers twenty-four hours, two high tides and two low tides.

When you are tuna fishing, you have to consider the tides. You have to think, "What kind of tide is it now, high or low? Is the tide going out or coming in?" You have to ask, "If the tide is going out, what is the tendency of the fish? If it is coming in, what do the fish most likely do?" You have to put all this information together in your mind. And then, you must go out and experience it.

There are fish who eat when the tide is coming in, so when the tide starts to move in, you cast your bait and you can catch a lot. On the other hand, when the tide is moving out, you can even see the fish and yet, no matter how much you cast your bait they do not even touch it. Fish tend to feed at certain times of the day. They feed according to the tides, currents and also the time of the day. This is true of land animals. Did you ever watch the rabbit? There is a certain time the rabbit feeds. There is a very good reason for when they come out to eat. The rabbit does not want to eat in the middle of the day when the hawk is able to spot him clearly. The whole animal kingdom operates like this. They move about at the best times for their protection. For example, the tiger feeds at night. They do this when the small animals are sleeping. They travel up to 100 miles in their excursions. Elephants feed early in the morning when it is not too hot; the rest of the day they look for shade under the trees or they go to the watering hole. This kind of pattern is less and less predictable when it comes to lower animals. The small fish will feed at any time, but the larger fish have a distinct time when they come to feed in full force. Don't over emphasize that fishing is simple. Don't think you can go out anywhere, anytime and just throw out the bait. Don't think it just comes by luck. There is a whole lot more to catching fish than that. You have to study in detail. Then of course, after all that, there is some small element of luck.