The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

48.8 kg. , 107.6 lbs.

Yellowtail, S Pacific Seriola lalandi grandis

Record Category: Women Speargun

Diver:		Rochele Potter
Date:		1/12/2015
Location:		NEW ZEALAND

We were on a spearfishing trip and Ben and I jumped in to dive as it was Nat's turn to drive the boat. After a short swim I was approached by a few kingfish so I dived to around 15m and saw a fish that looked pretty long and reasonably solid. Choosing that one I swam toward it and shot it mid-body aiming for the spine. I could see the spear had gone right through the fish however it took off down and away really fast. Back on the surface I grabbed the bungee line and pulled as the 35L float was towed down to about 5m. Pulling hard, after a while I was able to get the float up to the surface and start gaining line. The current was sucking me toward a rough gap between the island and a rock and I was unable to fight it, instead trying to keep the fish up and off the bottom. Nat was watching from the boat as I got sucked through the gap and when on the other side I indicated I needed another gun so he threw me my second speargun. I loaded it, swam down and shot the fish down through the top of the head at point blank range. The fish wasn't able to fight much anymore and I pulled it to the surface and icky'd it. I wasn't in a good place as the current was much stronger than my ability to swim against it so I didn't hesitate to get the fish into the boat and get out of the water. We drove and picked up Ben who was still diving and also called over Cameron and his mates in their boat to look at the fish and estimate it's size, the consensus was "pretty big". We kept the fish in a chilly bag with ice until we arrived at Mangonui at 4pm the next day to weigh it at the game club.