The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

7.4 kg. , 16.4 lbs.

Snapper, Colorado Lutjanus colorado

Record Category: Men Sling / Polespear

Diver:		Dave Freeman
Date:		2/23/2022
Location:		PANAMA

I grabbed the new Riffe Aluminator 9ft 5/8ths polespear and jumped in the water on a spot my buddies guaranteed would have fish. Unfortunately vis was 3-5ft and my first drop I ran into the bottom. To my surprise they said they were seeing snapper. I could hear fish moving around but didn’t see anything for a couple of drops. I realized they weren’t diving to the bottom. On the next drop I leveled off around 20’ and had a large school of Colorado Snapper come in and vortex me. I waited for a stand out model but nothing showed and I surfaced. On the next drop as I leveled off I immediately saw a larger fish. It passed in the horrible vis too quickly to get a shot off because I hadn’t loaded the polespear. I loaded and as I waited it seemed as if all the fish were smaller than the previous drop. I was about to ascend when a stand out fish swam in front of me. I let the riffe fly and it had great punch. I could tell the injector rod had penetrated completely and wasn’t worried about the slip tip not toggling. I was stoked the fish tried to but up a descent fight as I swam to the surface. Back at the boat I told my friends I was pretty sure it was a record and they looked at me dumbfounded. My buddy had the decency to tell me why I was getting the strange looks, “that’s small man.” I had a good laugh and know there’s bigger fish out there for another day.