The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

12.0 kg. , 26.5 lbs.

Seabass, European Dicentrarchus labrax

Record Category: Men Speargun

Diver:		CECCHETTI MASSIMO
Date:		8/10/2023
Location:		ITALY

On the evening of 9 August, I check the weather forecast and since the weather and sea conditions turn out to be good, my friend Paolo and I decide to go fishing the following day, it was 10 August 2023, a date that will remain etched in my memory. At dawn we were sailing, the air temperature was 25 degrees, very high considering the cool wind coming from the north, and the sea surface was slightly rippled. When I got out on the water I realised that the water was clear and warm with a surface temperature of 28 degrees. We visit various spots but find little fish because in the depths there is a lot of current with a very cold and murky water cut, we move on and decide to do some diving on a spot I know well. I go down to a depth of about 25 metres, strong current with ice-cold water at 15 degrees, very turbid and with very poor visibility, I lurk and remain motionless, after a few tens of seconds I see in the cloud of small fish surrounding me a bass of about 2kg, As I try to align the rifle on the sea bass, I see out of the corner of my eye a large shadow moving through the fog, instinctively I turn the rifle towards this new target, in fractions of a second I see that it is a huge sea bass, my finger twitches on the trigger and the rod pierces the large fish that is leaving very quickly. The apnoea in the cold water was long and there is no chance of dragging the fish with me, which has a lot of strength, so I climb towards the surface, loosening the reel but keeping the line always taut, from the surface I fight with the fish's resistance, my heart beats very fast with emotion, I finally manage to hold the fish in my arms and with a big smile I swim to Paolo who was fishing not far away. With shouts of joy and compliments for the wonderful catch, we decide to take the customary photos, weigh the beautiful fish, and sail home with happiness printed on our faces, aware of having experienced another great emotion given by the sea.