The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

11.0 kg. , 24.2 lbs.

Salmon, Chinook Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Record Category: Women Speargun

Diver:		Katya Karankevich
Date:		6/19/2026
Location:		UNITED STATES

Sometimes I imagine what my obituary will say, because I will likely die of this sport. I hope they don’t mention me ever so slightly defecating in my wetsuit after some strong village Folgers, while at the exact time having professional photos taken. Sea lions were chasing the kings in the area, spooking everything, including us. Even a 35 lb ling cod was hassling us that weekend looking for a free fish to take out of our literal hands. I had to kick him in the face a few times as he was biting at the salmon in my arms with his giant maw. Later, once we shot him too, we realized our entire heads could fit inside his sharp mouth. A 2,000 lb stellar sea lion was biting on my pal Erik’s stringer of fish, pulling them away. He had to go deal with that himself. A brown bear even attempted to swim with us but thought better of it. Several bald eagles swooped on my pal Brittaney’s catch as she was gutting in the water. None succeeded but their claws are each as long as an adult finger. It was a very Alaskan weekend. At least we don’t have sharks up here! That’s because the visibility is usually too poor to see them, not because they are not there. I clapped this hog in 20 feet of water using a 120cm Redtide speargun with a dyneema slip tip. Sometimes I feel like it’s totally a luck of the draw, as any group of king salmon move so quickly that you are wise to shoot the one you have the best split second opportunity on and not the biggest one you see. Any one of my friends could have nabbed him. I was very surprised upon surfacing that he was so large. We turned him into poké.
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