The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

23.7 kg. , 52.2 lbs.

Bass, Striped (Freshwater, Landlocked) Morone saxatilis

Record Category: Men Speargun

Diver:		paul young
Date:		8/25/2019
Location:		UNITED STATES

The day started off kinda rough. Water conditions were bad with a good amount of boat traffic. After a few dives in the early morning we decided to cut bait and change locals completely. I was with a novice diver and figured a change of venue with better water conditions was inline. We jumped in the truck and relaunched at spot I had shot my prior world record at. We took the boat and headed north to familiar hole and knew well. We anchored above about 75yrds and proceeded to swim down to a area with a few tree snags. On my first dive I was met by a few carp . This is always a good sign. The big striper usually follow close behind. I waited for about a minute with no luck. I moved to the other side of the snag about 20 ft and made another dive. As soon as I hit the bottom I was met by more carp. Alot of carp... I got ready. I knew a big fish was close.. About 50 seconds into the dive a giant head entered my vision. I pulled the trigger and the fish took off .. luckily for me it immediately wrapped up into a tree on the shoreline. I had a great head shot and I wasnt worried about losing the fish. It took me a good 10 minutes to untangle the fish and lines out of the mess. As soon as I got the fish onto the boat I knew I had a chance at a record. Luckily for me it just made it. It took me 6 yrs to finally get a west coast 50lber. Mission accomplished