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Valentine kindly shares her experiences as a speara with us

"Coming from Canada which is a cold country where diving is not a popular activity, I had never heard of spearfishing until last year. I did my PADI qualification in a pool, in February 2009, when it was -40C outside and with a broken heater in the building. No need to say that diving hadn't made a great impression on me!

Two years later, after I moved to London, a good friend of mine convinced me to do a freediving stage in Egypt with Umberto Pelizzari. I fell immediately in love with diving and the sea. In a subsequent trip to the Seychelles, my friend and I had a discussion with few locals regarding spearfishing. When I came back for Christmas, I immediately called them to arrange a spearfishing trip on Praslin Island. I had in the villa a 130 Rob Allen, that even after few hours of examination, I could not figure out how to work! The morning after, I took the ferry at 7am by myself from Mahé to Praslin in order to meet the guys.

After waiting over 2 hours on the beach for somebody to bring us some petrol, we headed out a few miles away from the shore on what I could only call a floating wreck. We stopped next to few rocks where the current was very strong; nobody stayed in the boat, which was anchored near the rocks. We only had one gun between three of us, which was under 60cm in length with a shooting line rolled up on a wooden stick, held by one of the guys (who was wearing an old wetsuit at least 4 sizes too big with the zipper broken). Despite this primitive equipment (the spear bounced off a 5kg jobfish that was less than 2 meters away from me), I managed to catch 3 parrotfish and the other guys a peacock grouper. Proud of my first catches, we came back to the shore, where the boat broke down and had to be pushed to reach the shore! It was only when I sat in the ferry that I realized how crazy and dangerous that first experience was. But the passion arose and I could not wait to do it again.

Valentine is one of few speara girls

After hearing about my experience in the Seychelles, my friends who were planning a trip to Ascension decided to invite me. I immediately accepted! I will not say that I was not scared, I watched videos of the island, looked at pictures and…watched a documentary on sharks! I was a pretty nervous as we took the plane from Brize Norton to Ascension Island.

When we landed at 8am, Colin came to pick us up. He dropped us at the hotel and gave us an hour to get our gear together and get on the boat. On the boat, I was very excited and nervous at the same time. We started at Botswain Bird Island where one of the guys taught me how to use a real speargun. After a few lessons and a lot of time rolled up in my floating line looking like a Christmas tree, I was finally familiar with my 130 Rob Allen and ready to go. Next we went to the famous Arienne Ledge trying to find some tuna. The weather got very bad and it was raining quite heavily. The waves were 2-3 meters high and the current was strong. I was sitting on the boat, fins in the water…hyperventilating! The sea looked dark and quite scary. I told myself: "if you don't go now, your fear would take over you the entire trip, go in the water for 15 minutes just to get confortable and get out!" I took a deep breath, and jumped in the water. I did a dive of 15 meters to play a bit with my gun and get used to it. When I was out of air, I went to the surface and right before I reached the surface I was facing a 10kg black Jack! I stopped thinking about going to breathe and aimed for the fish.

Valentine with her catch!

As it swam away, I waited a bit, and as it turned around I shot it directly in the brain. The fish was stoned and wasn't moving. A bit surprised, I came up to the surface, with blue lips and seeing stars. After I got my breath back, I still had to grab my fish and get it on the boat which was 15 meters away in the strong current. Exhausted and proud, I finally got back on the boat with my catch. It was a heavy first day, but it gave me the strength and motivation to push myself for the rest of the week.

Despite the ridiculous amount of dead trigger fish in the water (I probably swallowed more than 5kg of them during the week) , it was an amazing trip and I cannot wait to go back next year to try to catch a World Record fish with Titus, Tony and Colin next January. The trigger fish die off once in a while due to overpopulation and it was bad luck to arrive when this was happening!

Until then, I will be practicing and discovering the waters off Portland with Titus, Cameron and Rory where I am impatient to catch my first Bass!"

Valentine

More pics of Valentine out spearfishing:

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I spent a week this March diving for Pelagics off Ascension Island in the South Atlantic with Colin Chester and Tony Eynon.  We had a very successful trip, with me and Tony each landing 3 sailfish over 100 pounds.  Knowing that big Dog snappers live on some of the ledges we took a day off bluewater fishing to look for them.  Dog snappers (Lutjanus jocu ) are the only snappers found on Ascension.  I have shot some big ones in the past so we knew a potential World Record was on the cards.  Colin was present when the current Dog snapper WR was caught there a couple of years ago.

Diving Conditions

Water conditions were excellent with a moderate chop, and visibility to 50m +.  Temp was 28C in the water with air temp at 35C.  We anchored our small rib on a rocky shelf in about 10m of water.  This was about 500m from shore on the western part of the Island.  Looking towards shore there was a moderate current from left to right, and this was making the fish active and enthusiastic as they darted about looking for food.  Tony set off to look for snappers over a wreck, and Colin was looking for crays.

Spearfishing Gear Selection

From previous dives there I knew there was a dropoff to about 30m from 18m at the edge of the reef.  Here I had seen snappers patrolling in the past.  I had only two guns for the trip, a 110cm Rob Allen carbon for groupers and jacks and the big 160cm Rob Allen Carbon railgun with double 16mm rubbers.  It was very clear and my personal preference is to shoot snapper in deep open water rather than in caves where they can get loose and smash up your gear.  Attached to my 160 was a 30m standard Rob Allen floatline, attached to a single hard 11l torpedo buoy.  The spear was 7.5mm tri cut with a double wrap of 400lb shooting mono to give an effective range of 7m.

Contact and capture of the world record Dog Snapper

I made for the dropoff against the current, a swim of 100m out to sea from where the boat was anchored.  The current required steady progress but was not uncomfortable.  I loaded my first rubber as I was nearing the dropoff no  need for such a gun on the very shallow reef!).  Just then I saw the edge of the dropoff and a very fat snapper moving along it.  He clocked me at once, and was clearly a wary fish as he looked suspicious.  However I was still a safe distance from him- me on the surface and him at 20m.  I loaded the second rubber thinking this was going to require a bit of firepower if I was to get him in the open before he got in the caves that line the edge of the dropoff.

As if thinking the same thing the snapper, looking small and green at that depth, headed into one of the caves, but in a fairly leisurely way.  Knowing there was a good chance he was going to come out again, I breathed up and made my dive, directly above the spot it had emerged from.  When I was about 6m down, the fish did indeed come out, headed directly away from me, this cost him a few seconds (and metres of range) before he turned to his left and clocked me descending right behind him.

He immediately turned to face a honeycomb collection of cracks in the reef about 5m to my left which was clearly to be his preferred hiding place.  The big fish accelerated, still below me and about 5m away, but I had anticipated his path and he passed my aiming point and I fired the big gun.  It was clearly a hit but the fish did not slow down.  I had to put all pressure on the line as I ascended, trying to keep him out of the cave.  Despite my maximum efforts, he made it just inside but I could see the back of the spear so he was not in far.  Sweating and gasping on the surface to keep the fish from going into the cave was hard work and 15 minutes later I was still nowhere near breathed up.  The current seemed to be changing direction and my 11l float came by.  Quickly I tied the floatline off short on the buoy with a couple of overhand knots.  This kept the line vertical so the fish could not get in the cave, and allowed me to breathe up properly to take stock of the situation.

Moray eels were very active, coming out of the cave to see what the fuss was about.  I was not pleased to see them!  I made my dive, and levelled out just under the ledge where the spear could be seen.  My watch read 23m.  The cave went way back and down, but my efforts to stop the fish getting in the cave had actually resulted in it getting completely stuck between two broad walls of rock which bordered a trench.  The trench led down into the honeycome and was just a narrow crack 10cm across at the top.  Here he was stuck!  Amazed at my luck (and thankful that the shot had held) I was able to grip the top of the spear, keeping the pressure on whilst I pulled the fish down and backwards out of the crack.

As it came free I got my hand in its gills and it came up to the surface without too much trouble, having worn itself out trying to escape into the cave.  At the surface I finished it off with a quick jab to the top of the head and towed it the 100m back to the boat and passed it up on board.

Tony had caught another snapper, but smaller, so it was a great day for all of us.  Colin also got some huge rainbow runners.  The fish made excellent eating after the checks were completed.

Titus Bradley

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A 105 pound sailfish caught off Ascension, March 2012

The sailfish is amongst the fastest of all fish, possibly the fastest.

Clocked at speeds of up to 70mph and inhabiting the deepest blue water, the sailfish poses a challenge for any diver.

We must stress that the sailfish is dangerous to divers once speared and should not be hunted unless you are prepared for a potentially lethal counterattack.

Sailfish Appearance and Behaviour

Sailfish look similar to Marlin but are slimmer and slighter. Nonetheless they are substantial fish and armed with a very long sharp bill. Fish tend to be 60-100 pounds with bigger specimens up to 125 pounds plus. The sail on the back is raised to signal and to herd small fish. Sailfish can be found in deep warm water in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Diving seabird activity is an ideal indicator that sailies are in the area... sometimes you can see their sails on the surface as they circle a bait ball... exciting moments as you set up your approach!

Hunting for Sailfish

Two sailfish landed by Crystal Vis' Titus Bradley & Tony Eynon. A Bull Dorado caught the same day is in the centre.

The main problem is finding one! Living far from land in deep water they are not encountered casually. The approach can be problematic as sailfish have excellent spatial awareness. Approaches from the rear do not seem productive. Blindside attack did not yield a single fish for us in 70 contacts. A head on approach works best. Aim directly towards the fish, and as it swings its head back and forth, swing with it so it never gets a view of your side profile... keep this up and you will both close distance quickly. Then one of two things will happen- the fish will move off just out of range or it will do one more swing and you will get a flank shot.

On hitting the sailfish it will take off fast, either down or along the surface. You need a good float rig and to let them run. The fish has much more stamina but a similar pace to a wahoo. Think wahoo crossed with tuna and you have the general idea. Bringing in a sailfish too ‘green’ is very dangerous as they will often attempt to spear a diver (entirely reasonable!). Having narrowly evaded a couple of angry sailfish we would advise great caution in the final stages of the fight and to use a second shot if available.

Although it does not have teeth, the bill of a sailfish is a formidable weapon.

Dive Report:

Tony Eynon with 125 pound Sailfish shot in deep offshore water with 160cm Rob Allen Carbon Railgun (foreground right showing camo pattern)

Eating

Titus Bradley with 125 pound sailfish caught in March 2012, one of six fish taken on the trip.

10/10 - The sailfish is fantastic eating.

There are some rumours out there that it is woeful eating. We presume these are put about by woeful chefs

Cook as follows: Marinade the steaks in olive oil, lemon and black pepper mix. Cook on a pre heated skillet pan and sear each side for 2 minutes. Remove from pan and place on foil in pre heated over at 200C. Roast for 7 minutes. Done. Boom! Enjoy!

Weapon of choice

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The first dive I encountered GHB was about 17m dropping just behind some cover I was planning to hit. I was surprised by a swirling shoal of big fish in midwater, but, despite registering them as GHB did not get a shot as they were so fast.

Now aware of their presence we had fleeting sightings of these fish over the next few dives until a fateful day. After diving hard all morning and landing some decent black bream I ventured deeper. There is a dropoff from 19-23m in a certain place off Portland Bill and here I found myself on the bottom at 23m watching a whirling shoal of black bream at the edge of the 4m vis.

Given the presence of GHB which tend to keep far out of range, and the chances of a 20lb plus bass following several sightings, I was using a long ranged Rob Allen 140cm speargun with double 16mm bands and a 7.5mm spear.

Waiting until my breath would allow, I finally saw a massive gillplate moving left to right at the back of the shoal of black bream. Assuming this to be one of the mighty 20lb bass that we sometimes see here, I took aim with the long range gun. At the last minute I saw it was a much stumpier and shorter fish than a big bass, and at the same time took my shot.

At the edge of vis the fish did a cartwheel and I headed for the surface with no time for subtle tactics! The fish fought hard on the way up, and it was a great relief to surface with the fish still coming up the line.

Rory jumped in to take some photos. This was the first GHB I had shot, so had no idea what size they usually were. Fortunately the boys assured me it was something special so we kept the fish intact for weighing.

All in all the GHB have fallen to long range spearguns off Portland Bill and have remained out of reach of our smaller guns. We have taken a good few of these fish now, but they tend to prefer water deeper than 20m in this area.

Offshore diving at Portland Bill is not to be recommended without an experienced local guide as the currents can be extremely strong. Several newcomers have had very close escapes over the last 12 months so please ask advice from locals before considering diving this dangerous spot. If you see us out there, do come and say hi and we will be happy to give some advice

Dive Safe,
Titus

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Although there were still a few bass being caught in the early months of winter, I was not experienced enough to go into these deeper waters with strong tides. So, instead, I decided to prepare myself for the upcoming summer by attempting to go out diving through the winter months. At first this was just to try out new gear and try to improve my breath hold while looking for potential hunting grounds.  At first, these dives started out to be very short and unsuccessful, but determination got the better of me, and I started going more and more. This in turn led to me seeing a couple of fish, although mostly flatfish, they were fish all the same.

Soon my dives became longer and sometimes I would stay out for hours, searching for different types of seabed often swimming stealthily through weed and rocks trying to find cover, preventing any fish that may be around from seeing me – I didn't want them swimming off!

Catching an edible fish in winter:

When I shot my first flatfish I was overwhelmed that I had managed to catch an edible fish at this time of year.  This gave me the inspiration to keep going out and try to prove a lot of people wrong, that you can catch decent fish all year around.  I've spent many hours swimming around hunting flatfish in cold empty waters, with some dives having an air temperature of -5 degrees. This didn't faze me as I managed to catch some dinner plate sized flatfish, sometimes coming back with three or four fish ranging between 1lb and just over 2lb!

Going for the silver fish:

I had also been out with a couple of friends who had seen silver fish (bass or mullet), this confused me as I assumed they moved out into deeper warmer water in the winter months? But it also excited me, and once again I was on the hunt.  This time I employed different tactics in the hope of seeing (or even luring) a silver fish towards my spear. After missing a mullet of about 6lb, I believed there were silver fish around, and instead of trying marks I know produce flatfish, I tried different marks, where there may be bass or mullet hiding. This paid off on a recent trip, where we tried one location with no fish seen, undeterred me and a newbie friend went to the back up location to try and shoot the faithful flatfish, upon entering the water, there were a lot of bait fish that were surprisingly wary, shooting off as soon as we approached them. This made me wonder if there were any other predators around that were scarring the smelt.  After swimming around over a sandy bottom for just over an hour I decided I would try the edge of a reef nearby, swimming along the edge I was surprised when a large black head came out from under the weeds below me, taken by surprise I fired a rush shot, and missed and the fish swam off. I quickly loaded my Rob Allen Caranx and swam in the direction the fish went.   After about five minutes, I saw a silver flash between two rocks, and then a head emerged, hoping it hadn't seen me I raised the gun, only to realise I was not going to make the shot due to the two rocks covering the body and only just being able to see the outline of the head. I inhaled slowly, and then sank into the cover of the weed, waiting for the fish to move. Shortly after the fish turned side on, and I realised this was my only opportunity, I shot and waited anxiously for the fish to swim off rapidly. Surprisingly I had shot the bass through the backbone and stunned it.  I quickly grabbed the end of the spear and swam to the surface of the water, and to my delight the bass was secured on the spear. I dispatched the fish quickly and threaded It onto my stringer. Overcome with joy, I called over my friend and showed him the fish, my new personal best bass.

Another personal best!

Next, we swam off through the reef and shortly after, I saw a long shadow slowly swimming through the weed. I slowly raised the gun and shot, again the fish lay motionless on the bottom. Quickly I swam down and grabbed the fish, before realising the spear had not penetrated the fish fully. I grabbed the fish buy the gills and swam to the surface, this is when the fish started kicking its big powerful tail and nearly escaped my grasp. Luckily I managed to reach my knife with one hand whilst gripping the fish with the other, I dispatched the fish and strung it onto my stinger, it was only when I let go I realised how big the fish was, it was easily my personal best, beating the bass I had just shot.

We continued our swim towards a landmark we decided would be the final dive of the session. Shortly after, whilst crawling through dense weed, I saw a bass swimming at us head on, feeling sorry for my friend I tapped him and pointed to the fish. Quickly he raised his gun and shot, narrowly missing the bass that swam right past my face, too close and too fast for me to shoot, it disappeared into the distance. By now we were within 50 yards of our final destination, my friend decided to swim away and have a look in the shallows whilst I stayed on the edge of the string weed. Then from nowhere a silver flash caught my eye, turning slowly I saw a bass emerging from the weed looking straight past me, instinctively I raised my gun and fired, but next all hell broke loose!  There was weed and water splashing around everywhere, and silver flashes kept appearing and then disappearing. Retrieving the gun I had dropped I realised the fish had tired and started to sink, I quickly dived down and grasped the spear again, securing the bass all the way to the surface. I used my knife to dispatch the fish, and then realised the fish had tied the gun and float around my friends float line and around my snorkel. After a couple of minutes spent un-tying the knots, I managed to rest over my float.  I was knackered!  I looked at my friend, and even though he was clearly disappointed, I could see he was also very tired. We decided to call it a day and start the long swim back to the shore. Upon reaching the shore I was relieved to be on land again.  Then it dawned on me how big each bass was.  It was a short walk back to the car, we were very tired, but I was overwhelmed with excitement – I couldn't wait to get the fish home and find out what my new personal best bass was. At home we weighed the bass, in order of smallest first and then leaving the big one until last. The weights of the fish were; 5.52lb, 6.57lb and the biggest weighed in at 8.68lb!

Beating my personal best THREE TIMES within half an hour!

I had previously set myself a target for the summer of catching a bass over 5lb, this was my aim for the year which I had hoped I would achieve in the summer. I was the happiest man alive, and couldn't believe I had just had a session like that, especially in winter! This session allowed me to achieve my personal goal, and beat my personal best bass 3 times within half an hour. Now I cannot wait to venture out again.

A big thank you to Titus, Clive and the rest of the Crystal Vis team for providing the spear gun used, but most importantly the knowledge required to catch these magnificent fish.

Many thanks to you all.

Matt Newman.

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