Este lo dedico a tu hija, Daniela, enorabuena Benjamin!!! Marbled Coralgrouper, world record submit story (As told to Larry Carter)

"It was a bit late when the boat was finally down the ramp, the North wind was picking up announcing a choppy ride...

With the high tide already lost, the option was to head to the Dog Tuna hunting grounds, a drop off in the inside ledge of Danae shoal that produces excellent Doggies, nice Spanish Mackerel and some very good groupers…

One hour and a half later we arrive at the spot…the viz was excellent for that particular area and we could see the bottom right after the drop, some 19 meters below…

The first drifts didn’t produce any fish even on the massive Fusilier bait ball, and we soon realized that the pelagics where not there…
It was time for another strategy, changing the 160 spearguns with the floatlines and floats to the 130’s with reel…it was bottom hunting time!

The tide was slowing down making it perfect to look for those groupers inside the caves in the drop some 24 meters below…Emiliano was the first to score, landing a nice Red Snapper after quite a long wait…

…in the second drift I manage to shoot a lovely Malabar grouper getting her with a straight shot in the head as she was moving from one cave to the other…

A few more drifts and we moved a little to the south side of the drop…up on the surface while moving in the current I could see a shape above the coral, near a large cave entrance…four more deep breaths, I take the snorkel of my mouth to eliminate the noise and dive down…my fins stop around -14…the shape was now a tremendous Marbled Coral Grouper moving slowly to the cave…I let myself glide making absolutely no movement, gun alongside the body in order not to scare her…she stops just before the entrance…I bring the gun to the front positioning very gently hoping she doesn’t run…these moments last a lifetime, between the second I aim, and the one I pull the trigger…whoosh…straight behind the head!!! The fish twists a bit but doesn’t even move inside…the shot was perfect…-22 meters below I look up grabbing my prized catch and I can see Emiliano giving me the thumbs up in the surface…

In the boat I couldn’t believe it… just last week I had the record approved for this specie and this one was almost the double in size!!!

We took some pictures right after the catch and at the end of the day we took it to be weighted at Sabor A Mar Fishmongers…the smaller scale could only weight 15 Kg, so it was weighted in the digital platform one…my wife, Mr. Nelson and Mr. Ivan served as witnesses, we took the measurements and in the end I just sited there looking at this marvelous fish with a big smile on my face…"

Barred Rubberlip, world record submit story (As told to Larry Carter)

"In April last year I managed to spear one of my favorite fish…it was a hard kill, and after losing an awesome one earlier that day, I finally managed to land a Barred Rubberlip above the 5 Kg mark that fortunately became the existing IUSA world record tipping the scale at 7,4 Kg…the fish I lost earlier that morning looked awesome, and maybe the biggest I have seen leaving a strong challenge in me…

It’s a hot Monday morning, with a light Southern breeze, meaning good viz, and the chance to try the deeper inner drop off in Danae’s reef…

Laying on the surface I watch the bottom as I load my gun…as usual a lot of life can be seen in this drop, from the healthy population of sharks, present in large numbers, to pelagic as Dogtooth Tuna and Spanish Mackerel, but today due to the lack of current our interest lays in the bottom…

Diving in the Northern part of the drop Emiliano bags a nice River Snapper after quite some hide and seek…the commotion brings some Malabar groupers into the scene, one of which also ended on the boat after a long tussle, to bring her out of a very intricate cave…

…change of area, and we head down to the Southern area…Emiliano goes for the bluewater managing some nice barracudas and a good Spaniard…I decide to check that magical canyon where I had seen that amazing Barred Rubberlip…I descend and stop some 21 meters bellow at the edge of the canyon to check a large dark crevasse…looking inside it seems void, but a strange yellow shape in the middle of the dark calls my attention…I close my eyes for a few seconds to get used to the lack of light and as I open them I cannot believe what I see...

…the movements that followed that moment where somehow instinctive…the gun rotate from under the body aligning the fish with it and pressing the trigger with no further a due…the fish runs to the nearest hole trying desperately to get rid of the spear, I hit for the surface trying hard not to give him any slack…my heart is pounding as I scream for a float and a smaller gun…the boat reaches me, and Francisco delivers me the goods…float clipped to the handle, gun loaded, I try to lower my heart rate, to descend quickly again and I can see Emiliano on the bottom fending off all those sharks around my fish…one fast descend, and after a second assuring shot I bring my trophy with me…

…it’s the one… says Emiliano… it’s the one indeed…

Team work made this trophy possible, without Emiliano’s intervention with the sharks and Francisco’s rapid response on the surface it would surely be lost…thanks guys!!!"

Yellowspotted Trevally, world record submit story (As told to Larry Carter)

"After a long Sunday diving with good weather and an awesome viz in the outer Danae reefs we decide it was time to head home…

Some grouper were taken along with the usual Spanish Mackerel , several individuals of exceptionally good sized River Snapper and Green Jobfish , one or another nice Cobia and a lovely Yellowtail Barracuda that Emiliano took from a massive shoal…

Going home from Baixo Danae normally takes us through the South channel marker buoys and in route to the old Cockburn sunken lighthouse, home of Rosalina the giant Brindle Bass and the innumerous Trevally that dwell in those two structures…

…after checking the iron structure, and a few dances with Rosalina, but not so much fish, a pair of Spotted Grunter were taken and we headed for the tower less than half a mile North from this coordinate…

…this is a spot for drifts…the tower stands in 19 meters of water and goes all the way up resting four meters from the surface…approaching from the East as the tide gets higher, I dive in the sandy bottom a few meters before the tower, choosing to position myself slightly to the Northern side where most fish normally hang… reaching the bottom I get past the structure quite fast, typical of the currents that normally can be felt here…as I look up a small shoal of Yellowspot Trevally approaches head on…most are smaller individual but a larger one dwells behind…I let myself go in the current and let the small ones surround me to satisfy their curiosity…it’s been a long dive and I’m almost out of air…finally the big one decides to make a shy approach and I manage to plant a long shot in the back half of the fish…it bursts away and runs for the structure, I cannot stop him for it would surely tear the flesh and bring the spear to dislodge itself so I keep a gentle steady pressure on it…Francisco, our skipper hands me a float which I attach to the sharkclip in the end of my railgun…asking for the smaller 90cm gun, I load it in the water while fighting the current and I initiate a painstaking approach to the fish…swimming up current trough the reel line with a lot of effort I finally manage to get near the Trevally and plant a decent final shot and subdue the fish.

This one got weighted in a platform scale back at Sabor a Mar fishmongers and it tipped the 15,5kg mark…it was worth the effort after all!!!"

Indian Treadfish, world record submit story (As told to Larry Carter)

"It was a dark Thursday morning when we left Club Naval, heading up North in search of the schools of giant yellowtail barracuda’s that dwell in those scattered reefs among the sand.

The trip was troubled by a ever rising wind, picking up more and more, blowing straight in the bow, making the water dark and murky with all the debris and mud carried from the Incomati river basin into to sea right in our direction.

Arriving at the designated spot the water wasn’t really looking good, but still we decided to give it a try.

As usual, we enter the water together after the boat has past the wreck up current, setting us on the right position for a perfect drift. The first few dives produced some Spanish Mackerel of medium size from the waters surrounding the wreck, one after the other they were taken around mid water…

…the next dives became deeper and some nice sized Golden Trevally end up on board…"

…drifting past the bow of the sunken ship, at mid water looking for the Tassel fish that normally hang in that area I notice a bright grey shape shining a few meters below me…as I turn it bolts away and stops, looks back and regains its pace as before, I keep the pursuit approaching myself gently, the fish keeps moving but doesn’t run, giving me the chance to approach and plant a shot right in front of the gill plate…as I hit the surface and the reel stops, I slowly retrieve it…a few minutes later I have it in my hands.

It has been a while since we last saw one of these, although abundant four years ago and in larger sizes, this specie seemed to disappear from this area all the sudden…

"...sigo colado ao fundo, deslizo como se fizesse parte dele...a arma sob a sombra do corpo...de rocha em rocha, escondido pela floresta de coral...a mao esquerda faz a vez das barbatanas pois estas traem o caçador levando-os a fugir muito antes de os termos sequer á vista...

...horas antes levava o o arpao ao esmeril, trifacetando a ponta até as estremidades cortarem, adicionava um pouco mais de silicone entre a pala e o pe da barbatana abafando-lhe todo o ruido e afinava a "embraiagem" ao carreto acomodando a dyneema para fluir e não engasgar...

...todo este ritual acalmava-me numa especie meditaçao e vazio que obtenho nestes momentos de contacto com o material, abstraindo-me da ansiedade e preparando-me para a batalha que se seguiria...hoje era dia de Red Snapper!!!

O Pargo Vermelho, Lutjanus bohar, é uma das mais formidaveis criaturas que podemos capturar nestas aguas...filho do Indico, de espirito Africano é um animal selvagem, puro em energia, explosivo e com uma desconfiança tremenda, com uma inteligencia com a qual poucos peixes se comparam, e dotado de um certo tom de altivez e desdem que o mantem longe de nos e lhe subtrai toda aquela curiosidade natural que traí a maioria dos outros peixes... com este apura-se a tecnica, prolonga-se a apneia e testa-se o material!!!

...de volta ao fundo e apos varias imersoes, esta era mais uma com o intento de os fazer sair do destroço e leva-los para o pequeno vale de coral alguns metros mais a Norte...

...ali sei que tenho hipotese...as rochas e corais abundam, assim como as chapeleiras e grutas onde me posso esconder e fazer uso da contra luz para os surpreender...escondo-me, deslizo e faço-me notar, causando algum desconforto que leva os maiores a iniciarem o trajecto até á zona mais profunda, procurando a protecçao da paisagem natural que ali se forma...o grupo segue-os...a primeira batalha está ganha...

Afundo lentamente, e posso ve-los ao longe...ao tocar o fundo o corpo segue a trajectoria que a mente desenhou na superficie...começa a aproximaçao vagarosa...num jogo de paciencia, onde a calma e o relaxe tem de ser totais...devagar entro dentro de um alpendre de coral e escondo-me na sombra... dois breves ruidos com a garganta e paro totalmente...olhos para baixo...arma escondida...corpo relaxado...

...entram os primeiros...nos seus 4 a 7 kilos, num tom vermelho alaranjado, como pequenos duendes de fogo com os seus caninos sobressaidos e olhar austero...baixo a cabeça num gesto de submissao que lhes atiça o instinto levando-os a permanecer perto de mim...um pouco por trás consigo senti-lo...ouço as investidas que faz...ainda nervoso denuncia a presença com disparos curtos da cauda, pequenas salvas que ecoam como musica nos meus ouvidos...

...investida apos investida, vai ganhando confiança...entra com vigor quase em cima...desvia-se no segundo final e ganha de novo distancia...é agora ou nunca...enquanto se afasta preparo a arma deslocando o corpo para tras e faço um ultimo som gutural...pára, vira-se e entra decidido...um metro mais e...atiro, o arpao voa na sua direcçao e o tiro embora não mortal é perfeito...em cheio na cabeça...o peixe explode na direcçao contraria, deixo-o correr um pouco e assim que tenta entocar tranco o carreto iniciando a subida...o ar já é pouco, o tempo é longo...a superficie chama...

Agora por fim tudo é rapido, ventilo o melhor que posso controlando o peixe debaixo de mim, sei que com toda aquela combatividade os tubaroes nao tardam a vir cobrar o que é de Neptuno...arranco para o fundo, recto em cima do peixe agora semi entocado...uma mao afasta a dyneema do coral enquanto a outra retira o peixo do buraco...encosto-o ao peito enquanto verifico a vizinhança...estao logo ali mas nao se aproximam...este é meu!!!”




Assim foi a captura do meu primeiro Red Snapper do ano, durante a filmagem do episodio 3 do AFRICAN SPEARFISHING DIARIES, uma criatura magnifica e talvez o peixe que mais gozo me dá capturar...testa-me ate ao limite e nunca pára de me surpreender...alem do mais para cima de 8 kg é uma presa de respeito que poucos caçadores podem contar nos seus enfioes...


Um grande abraço a todos...