The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

Meritorious Award

42.8 kg. , 94.4 lbs.

Seabass, White Atractoscion nobilis

Record Category: Meritorious

Diver:		John Rieger
Date:		6/20/2023
Location:		UNITED STATES

Everything went smoothly this morning. I was feeling great, weather was perfect and there was nobody around where I was diving. I entered the water and quickly spotted a few nice white seabass. I continued my hunt and came across a pair of giant white seabass on the surface. I slowly got closer to the pair and was amazed how big they looked. I began to focus on my shot and lined up on the fish closest to me. I took my shot and quickly thereafter my shooting line went tight and the fish took me for a nice ride. I knew I had a great shot so I put the breaks on as much as I could without risking a tear out of the spear. Upon retrieval of the fish and bleeding it in the water, I realized this was my personal best white seabass. I then made my way to the boat and after a couple failed attempts at shoulder pressing a near hundred pound fish up and over the rail of my 14' Klamath aluminum boat I finally got the fish in the boat. I quickly got the fish on ice and relaxed for a few minutes as I knew I had my biggest white seabass in the bag. I then pulled the hook and made my way in. I had a friend help me weigh and photograph the fish once I made it in. The picture and scale weight prompted me to pursue an official weight at the Santa Barbara Fish Market on a certified, registered scale. To my amazement the registered scale revealed a world record weight of 94.4 pounds. Mind you the fish was bled in the water!
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