The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

6.1 kg. , 13.5 lbs.

Grouper, Gag Mycteroperca microlepis

Record Category: Women Speargun

Diver:		Stacey Johnson
Date:		7/2/2014
Location:		UNITED STATES

We were invited to go on a spearfishing trip on the west coast of Florida for grouper opener by Jeromy Gamble. I was aware there was no world record for the gag grouper yet and in order to attain this record I would have to land/boat the fish completely unassisted by myself. So in preparation for it my boyfriend tied bands on his gun to where I would be able to pull them back on my own. It was the second day of hunting on July 2 and we arrived at our first dive spot around 10:00 AM. The two boats anchored up and everybody jumped into the water. I was swimming in very close vicinity with Justin, Kris, and Jeromy when Justin shouted at me "Babe theres a big one in this rock". So I excitedly swam to where he was and he pointed to where I should look. I swam down to the ledge with a flashlight and shined it into the rock where I saw the fish laying in the back not moving trying to hide. It took me a couple of dives to pick the right angle for the shot and when I felt confident I pulled the trigger on about my fifth dive. As soon as I made the shot I swam up for air. While I was up on the surface, Kris was saying that he didn't think I got it because it was quiet down there. So I swam back down and was pulling on my line when I felt the fish come alive. He tried to shoot out the other side but was caught on the line. In order for me to not lose the fish Justin told me to slide my hands through its gill plate and stab him in the head with the knife. As I took a deep breath and swam back down I could only see the tail end of the fish while the rest was covered in a big ball of seaweed. I tried to grab the tail of the fish but it slipped through my hands and went back into the cave. I came back up for air frustrated because I couldn't get a good view of the fish. I went back down and slowly pulled the line towards me when all of a sudden I saw the fish not moving. I had the perfect chance to grab the fish through the gills so I took it. As soon as my hands went in the gills the fish started going crazy. I took my salvimar dive knife and stabbed the fish in the head multiple times until it was dead. When I got to the surface Kris said I needed to grab the shaft myself since no one was aloud to help in any part of landing the fish. I looked down and saw the shaft laying on the bottom so I just pulled the line all the way up and got ahold of the shaft. We then swam to the boat when Kris asked if I wanted a few photos of me and my fish. After that I jumped onto Jeromys boat with my fish and everybody screamed with congratulations. We took a few more pictures and everybody agreed it was time to move to the next spot. I then lined the gun back up and swam back to Charles's boat and put my fish in the cooler.
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