The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

6.2 kg. , 13.6 lbs.

Sheepshead, Atlantic Archosargus probatocephalus

Record Category: Men Sling / Polespear

Diver:		Matthew McGuigan
Date:		5/28/2024
Location:		UNITED STATES

On May 29, Lucas Franzetti of the Apex and I left from Ocean City, Maryland around 9 am. The conditions were beautiful, wind light and variable, seas 2-3 feet at around 8-9 seconds. We headed to a reef site 13 miles southeast of the inlet, where the bottom is roughly 70 feet. Birds were working schools of bluefish, dolphins were circling bait. With so much life around we knew it was a great day to kick off our diving season. Upon entering the water and making our first drops, we found a massive school of large Atlantic Sheepshead circling the wreck from mid water to the bottom. Visibility was better than I expected for this time of year, about 15 feet. I quickly returned to the boat to retrieve my Gatku 8’ pole spear, as this record has been a bucket list of mine for quite some time and I knew it was the day for it. Lucas made the next drop, securing a fish that came in at 14 lb 10 oz with his speargun. I was up next, and made my drop to around 50 feet, where I selected the largest fish in my line of sight. I loaded my pole spear and released a shot right on its head. The spear bounced off. I the armor on the fish these size caught me off guard. I knew on the next drop I needed to make a shot in the middle of the body. Lucas dove again, landing another large fish, roughly 12 pounds. My turn again, so I took my dive and again lined up on the biggest of the fish I could find. I placed a shot right behind the head but in the meat. The spear stopped, as it hit the spine. The fish was stoned and froze, so I grabbed it as quickly as I could, bear hugging it to the surface. The fish was large, but too close for comfort, ultimately weighing in at 12 lb 3 oz. I knew I had to try one more time if I wanted to be sure. I make my drop again, this time with a central shot I knew would penetrate. The sling did its job, with the flopper clearing the fish completely I knew it was secure. Then came the challenge of fighting that fish to the surface with no reel and no float line. I had not anticipated and geared up to shoot a fish this large in the body. But after a bit of struggle I got it to the surface. We knew at that moment we had achieved our goal. The fish was clearly larger than the standing record. We continued to drop on this school until we reached our bag limit. Once we hit that point we started looking for flounder, I shot one at 18”. Lucas passed on one he wasn’t sure of the size. They were not in their normal numbers for this time of year. So with that in mind, a full box of fish and a dive we will always remember, we headed home. *No chum was used
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