The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

10.5 kg. , 23.0 lbs.

Jobfish, Green Aprion virescens

Record Category: Women Speargun

Diver:		Kara Pedersen
Date:		1/17/2021
Location:		UNITED STATES

It was mid morning and we had been drifting our second spot for a while. Rob, Tyler and I were in the water while Charlie was our boatman. We took turns dropping on a few Kawakawas and smaller Ukus, but they were smart and kept their distance. A Galapagos rolled through and all the fish scattered. You could tell we were all starting to give up on this spot because the chumming became sporadic and we began talking at the surface. Then out of nowhere, I looked down and saw a massive fish head coming straight up to our buzz bomb. I wasn’t positive what fish it was until it turned away revealing its body. I quickly realized how massive this Uku was. “HOLY $H*T!” I yell out of my snorkel. I took two quick breaths and as I began to drop, I heard Rob and Tyler yelling at me to go. My pike spooked her and she started to slowly descend. I followed her down trying to call her back to me. When I got to the bottom of the flasher I froze and waited. She cautiously turned around and approached. Facing her head on, I lined up my shot and instinctually pulled the trigger before she could corner away. I let her run briefly before holding tension on the line, and then I fought her to the surface. As I ascended, the songs from the humpback whales echoed all around me, almost as if they were cheering me on. When I surfaced I heard Rob and Tyler hooting and hollering as well. Exhausted from the fight, I kept resistance on the line and paused for a quick breath knowing I had a good holding shot. Rob reminded me there were sharks around, so I pulled her in and used my knife to quickly dispatch her at the surface. I called Charlie over, got the fish on the boat, and couldn’t wait to replay the story to him. It was Charlie’s turn to jump in the water, and he shot his personal best uku not long after mine! We were stoked to have a cooler full of uku and celebrated on the way home with some laughs and beers!
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