The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

17.9 kg. , 39.4 lbs.

Buffalo, Bigmouth Ictiobus cyprinellus

Record Category: Men Speargun

Diver:		Matthew Deichsel
Date:		10/3/2020
Location:		UNITED STATES

My journey began early in the morning as I travelled several hours to my destination. My target was a buffalo sucker/carp for the Top Dawg tournament. Upon my arrival, I only had a few hours left before sunset. After attempting several dives in many different areas and not finding my targeted fish, I was concerned that it might be too late in the day for me to accomplish my goal. However, I did not give up, and dove into the darkness which, to be honest, became quite eerie at one point. At last, I spotted movement deep in the water and cautiously moved closer to explore the depths of lake. My visibility as I dove down was about five to eight feet and I waited with bated breath. Finally my prey, that looked to have the shape of a buffalo, swam by…. I aimed and pulled the trigger. It took off pulling my 60 feet speed stringer and hard float for about 100 feet. I vigorously chased the fish and was concerned that if I grasped my speed stringer, I would lose my fish. I told myself, “Let the float do the work.” After what felt like eternity chasing this monster, I slowly and gently pulled the speed stringer and then carefully descended down….slowly…. so as not to spook the fish away. As I approached it, I sensed that the shaft did not fully pierce through, so I gently approached the prey and slowly grabbed the shaft and then pushed it through to secure my catch. I pulled it to the surface and swam to the boat. It was not until after I put the buffalo fish into the boat that I saw just how much of a large beast I had speared.
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