The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

5.1 kg. , 11.2 lbs.

Snapper, Midnight Macolor macularis

Record Category: Men Speargun

Diver:		Jake Poad
Date:		2/3/2020
Location:		AUSTRALIA

After a slow couple hours chumming blue water for no pelagic activity we decided to move onto the reef, we only had an hour before we had to pick chris up from the boat ramp so he could join us diving (we were diving from his boat while he dropped his son at school) we moved onto the reef and as i dropped into the water in 25m allowing the current to push me up onto the slope as the reef got shallower i spotted a school of midnight snapper hanging around a bombie and moving down the slope and returning to that bombie. I did a breathe up as the current pushed me towards the bombie i was aiming to drop on and wait for the school to gain confidence and return up the slope. i timed the dive poorly and as i was half way too the bottom saw the school watching me from deeper water, i leveled out a metre or two from the bottom ready to settle on the bottom and saw one lone midnight snapper poke its head out from the bombie i was diving on, he saw the rest of the school sitting out deeper and made a break to join the rest of the pack. as soon as i had saw its head poke out from the cave i had lined up my shot knowing it would head for deeper water once it saw me. Thankfully it did as expected and didnt try to get back into the bombie. My shot was a bit rushed and from above rather than level with the fish but landed solidly in the cheek penetrating all the way. the flopper engaged and as i was nearing bottoming out the float line and current pushing the float past me, with breakaway gear i knew i had the fish beat and swam up with enough pressure on the float line to just keep the fish out of the reef. I returned to the surface, pulled up the fish and was surprised with the size of it, realizing the shot must have been longer than i thought with such good visibility. once secured i brain spiked the fish and put it in the boat and continued diving. photos were taken half an hour later when returning to the boat ramp.