PB Spearfishing Bass 41 lbs

[Arbutis]

One breath. One shot. 55 feet down. Personal Best bass - 41lbs

88025

It's a truly amazing sight to see. Take a deep breath, dive down in 50+ feet of water into a massive school of the biggest bass ever seen. As the sea of fish parts beneath you and you slowly settle to the bottom (did I mention it was 55 feet down! Yow!) the fish begin to return and form a circling funnel all around you. It was a tornado of bass all in the 30 to 60 lb class - no exaggeration. An actual Bass-nado.

The difficult part was to hold your breath long enough to be able to hone in on the largest fish in the school. One fish limit. One shot. When I shot my fish I knew it was a PB by far but I also knew that if I had just a little more air and a little more patience, I could have picked out one for the record books. I shot a bruiser but there were fish in the Bass-nado that were much bigger.

Really exciting stuff. It lets you see what your sonar/fishfinder is really seeing. You just have to have the stones to jump in the water and take a look (55 feet down). :)

[MVP]

Great stuff. Congrats

[stugots]

cool stuff...this was in NJ?

[tombanjo]

Cecil the bass.

[Capt. Lou]

Not a sport no matter what depth ur at , it's amazing it's still allowed definitely not a fan !!
Pin hooking bad enough , don't need this , sport anglers brought back this species back years ago , don't remember any diving groups involved , maybe I'm wrong .:mad:

[bunker dunker]

haters gonna hate lovers gonna ............with in the law and congrats on a great fish.just add bbq,butter and fresh garlic.

[Flukemeister1]

Great fish! Congrats and ignore the ones who could never do what you accomplished.

[gnuisance]

I'll offer my opinion on this that no one cares about or wants. I think spearfishing is cool in theory but in today's age where so many fisheries are in trouble I don't think it's great to have a means of catching where there is no release possibility. Also not a fan of killing large bass, I'm not a scientist but I have reliable info that bass that size are usually female and responsible for producing most of the viable eggs.

[bunker dunker]

this is the part I don't get.no one owns the fish period!!! if the law says he or she can harvest 1 bass at legal size than why do the haters have to always try to squash that persons trophy?????? start your own thread!!!

[MrAC1980]

They shot 2 fish!! Give them a freaking break, Geeeeez! My PB fluke 8.5lbs was spearfishing so I can relate. Awesome work!! I can only imagine what a huge school of bass above me while laying there in silence is like! When I'm on scuba, I can't hold my breath for 2 seconds and I suck a tank dry in minutes, lol. So yeah holding your breath for 50+ft and waiting there to get the perfect shot is amazing! Nicely done!! Next time bring a gopro attached to your gun or head so you can record it!! Okay enough exclamation marks, lol. :D:p:D

[Arbutis]

I'll offer my opinion on this that no one cares about or wants. I think spearfishing is cool in theory but in today's age where so many fisheries are in trouble I don't think it's great to have a means of catching where there is no release possibility. Also not a fan of killing large bass, I'm not a scientist but I have reliable info that bass that size are usually female and responsible for producing most of the viable eggs.

Well, I've argued this point before in favor of spearfishing. As long as you know your size and quota limits, spearfishing (in theory) has a much, much, much lower incidental kill percentage than any other means of fishing. Think of the bicatch of the commercial trawlers or netters and think of all of the gut hooked or fowl hooked or undersized fish that are killed every day by commercial or recreational fishing.
Spearfishermen take only what they will eat (in theory) and 'release' all of the other fish unharmed.

As far as taking bass over 40 pounds. Well, you got me there. Good breeder stock and unnecessary to kill for any reason. My only defense is that is was a PB and I ate it for several meals. If there was a 100 pound fish I would have shot that one instead because it's only natural to want to push our own personal bests in the sports we enjoy. And yes, it is a sport. And a damn hard one at that. (did I mention I got 55 ft down on one breath - I'm pretty proud of that if you haven't got that message yet);)

[Bucktailboys.com]

Congrats!!! Wish I could accomplish this with or without a spear :D

[Fisherman120]

Nice fish. On the whole spearfishing thing, do what you want. I personally don't like it because I think a lot of the fun with recreational is NOT seeing what's down there with your own eyes or hitting your presentation, but it's still a form of fishing. Do what you enjoy. Nothing wrong keeping your catch just as I did with my 40.

[bigfish1011]

dont worry about the back seat quarterbacks who are tied up at the docks- Nice kill

[makosnax]

Congrats on a great achievement, the guys bitching are the first ones to post pics of 'limits' during the spring and fall run.

[Gabehow]

Sounds like an amazing site to see. I definitely want to give spearfishing a shot. Congrats on the PB!

[Capt. Lou]

I personally don't eat Stripers so I'm certainly not posting dock pictures of my limit. Actually fish 3 days or more per week so I'm not tied to any dock . Furthermore I dont hate any guy that spearfishes , just don't approve of the method !
As far as PB's

Sword 464
Tuna 975 , w20 plus Gts landed over 500#'s
BE 313
YF 243
Striper 49
Striped marlin 187 fly rod
Wahoo 993/4
Sails 72 / 120 fly & conventional
Spearfish 45
White 89
Tarpon 125 6 # class. Caught over 25 on fly !
Landed 7 swords in one night 143 to 297 NJ
Steelhead Fly 25#
Cod 52#
Pollock 43#
Mako 500#
35 trout over 5#'s in 5 seasons out of public waters local !
Fluke 10.5 lbs
Walleye 13,7 lbs Fly Rod
Brown trout 19#'s LO chartered 14 years
Tog 15#
Tilefish 48#'s
Bluefish 21#
BM 350 #

I've actually spent more time in canyon than most ,almost 25 seasons & hundreds of trips from 1967 to 2004 when fishing was very good almost all days ! I've had the pleasure of fishing in 12 countries & love
fishing most all types .
So I'm not any hater of fishing just don't like spear fishing :mad::cool:
PS non of above taken w / spear ! Couple were harpooned ! :D

Capt Lou
100 ton master
7th issue

[bunker dunker]

and all this give you the right to rain on some ones parade??

[hookset]

What is it with dentist having to shoot their trophies!!! Hahahah jk!!

Good for you glad you got a PB even more jealous you got to see a massive school of big fish all around you!!!

Most impressive is 1 breath 55 foot hold shoot retrieve and swim back to top!! Really really impressive!! I may be able to do like 10 feet!!

Congrats in a day you won't forget to soon

[Duffman]

I personally don't eat Stripers so I'm certainly not posting dock pictures of my limit. Actually fish 3 days or more per week so I'm not tied to any dock . Furthermore I dont hate any guy that spearfishes , just don't approve of the method !
As far as PB's

Sword 464
Tuna 975 , w20 plus Gts landed over 500#'s
BE 313
YF 243
Striper 49
Striped marlin 187 fly rod
Wahoo 993/4
Sails 72 / 120 fly & conventional
Spearfish 45
White 89
Tarpon 125 6 # class. Caught over 25 on fly !
Landed 7 swords in one night 143 to 297 NJ
Steelhead Fly 25#
Cod 52#
Pollock 43#
Mako 500#
35 trout over 5#'s in 5 seasons out of public waters local !
Fluke 10.5 lbs
Walleye 13,7 lbs Fly Rod
Brown trout 19#'s LO chartered 14 years
Tog 15#
Tilefish 48#'s
Bluefish 21#
BM 350 #

I've actually spent more time in canyon than most ,almost 25 seasons & hundreds of trips from 1967 to 2004 when fishing was very good almost all days ! I've had the pleasure of fishing in 12 countries & love
fishing most all types .
So I'm not any hater of fishing just don't like spear fishing :mad::cool:
PS non of above taken w / spear ! Couple were harpooned ! :D

Capt Lou
100 ton master
7th issue

Your Awesome

[rumster]

Not a sport no matter what depth ur at , it's amazing it's still allowed definitely not a fan !!
Pin hooking bad enough , don't need this , sport anglers brought back this species back years ago , don't remember any diving groups involved , maybe I'm wrong .:mad:
Agreed! Not sure if the topic even belongs on this site. To use the argument that no one owns the fish is funny. Just because you can does not make something right. Everyone has the right to be an ******* too. Nothing personal, just my opinion.

[MrAC1980]

Nice fish. On the whole spearfishing thing, do what you want. I personally don't like it because I think a lot of the fun with recreational is NOT seeing what's down there with your own eyes or hitting your presentation, but it's still a form of fishing. Do what you enjoy. Nothing wrong keeping your catch just as I did with my 40.

I thought the same until I did it and W.O.W.! Seeing a school of seabass, huge tog, etc in their own environment is just amazing. Esp if you get into wreck diving, forget the fish, but the ship wrecks from a time most of us forgot is breathtaking (no pun intended since on scuba lol). If you want to argue the meaning of "fishing" then what about the crab guys we all watch on tv, they are supposedly "fishing" too! Putting a giant trap in the water and coming back a few days later to pick it up is not fishing to me! But that's just my 2cents. Okay carry on! :D:p:D

[rumster]

and all this give you the right to rain on some ones parade??
If someone wants to pound their chest on a public forum you have to realize that not everyone is going to agree with your perception of things. This is America and everyone is allowed to voice their opinion without making it personal.

[HDMarc]

What is it with dentist having to shoot their trophies!!! Hahahah jk!

Now that's funny:D! All kidding aside, nice catch with the spear, could only imagine what it looked like down there!

[stugots]

The negative comments on this board are beginning to really piss ne off. People bitch and moan about everything on here. Limiting out on bass, spearfishing....wait until people stop posting their reports on here due to negativity from the peanut gallery all the time. It's amazing how someone gets 3 pages worth of bitching for spearing a fish but when I post a BFT report 4 weeks ago in detail with location and lure color I got 2 damn weak comments.

[ScowardNJ]

We all know the saying..Opinions are like (*)'s - everyone has one.

Here's mine.....When I read people hating on actions that are totally legal...It makes me want to keep every legal fish I catch from now on and feed them through my wood chipper and shoot them into my tomato garden...Because I like tomatoes.. wah wah wah....

Holding your breath, free diving to 50ft and taking a shot at a fish isn't sport??? C'mon!! That takes more balls than dragging a spoon all day waiting for a rod to pop.

[bunker dunker]

no rumster all I am saying is to each their own.if some one wants to post about an accomplishment,he should be able to without anyone saying otherwise.also by the "positive posts" I am not the only one that feels this way.

[Poncho]

I'd be happy just to fit in a wetsuit!!!!!:p

[Delawareriver]

I personally don't eat Stripers so I'm certainly not posting dock pictures of my limit. Actually fish 3 days or more per week so I'm not tied to any dock . Furthermore I dont hate any guy that spearfishes , just don't approve of the method !
As far as PB's

Sword 464
Tuna 975 , w20 plus Gts landed over 500#'s
BE 313
YF 243
Striper 49
Striped marlin 187 fly rod
Wahoo 993/4
Sails 72 / 120 fly & conventional
Spearfish 45
White 89
Tarpon 125 6 # class. Caught over 25 on fly !
Landed 7 swords in one night 143 to 297 NJ
Steelhead Fly 25#
Cod 52#
Pollock 43#
Mako 500#
35 trout over 5#'s in 5 seasons out of public waters local !
Fluke 10.5 lbs
Walleye 13,7 lbs Fly Rod
Brown trout 19#'s LO chartered 14 years
Tog 15#
Tilefish 48#'s
Bluefish 21#
BM 350 #

I've actually spent more time in canyon than most ,almost 25 seasons & hundreds of trips from 1967 to 2004 when fishing was very good almost all days ! I've had the pleasure of fishing in 12 countries & love
fishing most all types .
So I'm not any hater of fishing just don't like spear fishing :mad::cool:
PS non of above taken w / spear ! Couple were harpooned ! :D

Capt Lou
100 ton master
7th issue

What's your point? So you have killed more trophy fish then most and you have the balls to say a spearfishing is a bad thing because of personal opinion. go pound sand man!

Op Congrats on your pb, very impressive!! Something most of us will only dream of now go find a bigger one!

[rumster]

I'd be happy just to fit in a wetsuit!!!!!:p
Now that`s funny. LMAO

[Gerry Zagorski]

The negative comments on this board are beginning to really piss ne off. People bitch and moan about everything on here. Limiting out on bass, spearfishing....wait until people stop posting their reports on here due to negativity from the peanut gallery all the time. It's amazing how someone gets 3 pages worth of bitching for spearing a fish but when I post a BFT report 4 weeks ago in detail with location and lure color I got 2 damn weak comments.

I'm with yah :mad:

[Tony Cav]

Sport fishing defiantly has a greater impact than spearfishing. Each to their own. What do you want? More regulations? Congrats on the PB!!! Holding your breath at 50 feet is way more sporting than swimming a live bunker. Good deal!!!!!!

[KevinH]

Congrats on your pb I'm going to be taking dive classes soon and can't wait to start spear fishing. But until then I'll just be hunting over my bait pile with my crossbow. :D:D:D

[bunker dunker]

x2,10 point plus corn = full freezer!!1

[Abrasion]

Catch and release people are funny. How can you fault the guy? Is it jealousy? He's not breaking the law by any means and on top of it it's way more of a sport than dropping a jig to the bottom. Great job!!!a

[njdiver]

Congrats on your pb I'm going to be taking dive classes soon and can't wait to start spear fishing. But until then I'll just be hunting over my bait pile with my crossbow. :D:D:D

There are tremendous differences between breath hold (free diving) and SCUBA. Spearfishing can be done by both methods but you need training and experience in either before you invest in a spear.

[pgoins]

We all know the saying..Opinions are like (*)'s - everyone has one.

Here's mine.....When I read people hating on actions that are totally legal...It makes me want to keep every legal fish I catch from now on and feed them through my wood chipper and shoot them into my tomato garden...Because I like tomatoes.. wah wah wah....

Holding your breath, free diving to 50ft and taking a shot at a fish isn't sport??? C'mon!! That takes more balls than dragging a spoon all day waiting for a rod to pop.

Exactly what I was thinking. The guy held his breathe and free dove to 50', shot a nice bass, then had to surface. Yah i be pissed about a post like this too. Makes dragging stretches and spoons behind the boat and hauling in 20 lb fish on 50# gear look a lot less sporting.

[howarda780]

Duffman for president!

[O'Connor]

Inshore boat Fishing is not a sport...takes zero athletic ability. Swimming and having the lungs to hunt a fish @55 feet deep is an accomplishment and more of a sport then rod and reel fishing. Need not worry if spear fishing will hurt the stocks as if you looked around the docks in the morning the vast majority of folks are not in this kind of shape. :eek: I am very surprised that people would thumb their nose at this accomplishment. I say congratulations sir. Good luck and stay safe.

[Mattsea]

Thats a great fish Doug. I used to be a spearfishing junkie and know how intense it can be to battle a big bass underwater. The 25-30 pounders I use to take were no where near as big as this fish. I used to dive the inlets on long island where the currents, waves and visibility were all a challenge. Black fish were like bird hunting and the bass were big game. Loads of fun. I have to get back in shape and do it again soon. The decline in visibility really put an end to my underwater hunting. I will say however, given decent conditions, I could out gun a rod and reeler by 10:1. Still not many can do what we do and I dove with lots of guys who couldnt hack it. Nothing like being in the Zone.

[Reel Class]

Congratulations on that fish man, most people who are have a pulse know that's one hell of an accomplishment and poo-pooing it is ridiculous.

The tree-hugging catch and release types are everywhere nowadays, whether it's on facebook, instagram, or internet message boards -- their goal is to "save" the striped bass and their message when on their soapbox is that catch and release is the ONLY way it can be done. They have a voice because they've been given a voice (and people are now really listening - cue the NMFS!) by liberal America - and that's fine - but they truly can't engage in scholarly discussions about this topic because they truly believe they are "right" and can't even hear opinions from the other side.

It's funny, because I guess their treble hooks on their $70 plugs don't do any damage to the fish, right?

Another thing they throw out there is that the biomass is in such bad shape -- guys in Maryland and Virginia this spring/summer that fish with me told me that they're sick of catching stripers, and they want to seabass fish this fall. First time I've ever heard that!!

[rikard.froberg]

Congratulations to a nice fish and a very cool experience!

Rick

[Goatee]

Nice fish and thanks for the report! Spearfishing may be the best way to take a fish. No undersized fish harmed and you only hurt one fish and one species. I would have taken one also. Whats more sporting than diving down under the water unaided with just a spear?

[Fish Stix]

That's deep! A job well done!

[Jigman13]

Respect man. Nice kill. I've got some friends out east in mtk who spearfish and rod and reel fish. It's enjoyment of the ocean and harvesting food. Simple as that.

[kmaty]

The negative comments on this board are beginning to really piss ne off. People bitch and moan about everything on here. Limiting out on bass, spearfishing....wait until people stop posting their reports on here due to negativity from the peanut gallery all the time. It's amazing how someone gets 3 pages worth of bitching for spearing a fish but when I post a BFT report 4 weeks ago in detail with location and lure color I got 2 damn weak comments. havent seen a kmaty striper report once this yr have you i disapeared from this site bc of azholes and guess what i stillput a beat down on those strippes little fockers last night sucked but what im tryna get at i cant belive i can catch fish without njf..witch is unfortunate bc ive meet some cool people off this site tty next yr maybe b.c here i come decide to drop. in and its the same old crap whhaaaa whhhaaa wwhhhaaaaaa like get bent bunch of 5yr olds

[kmaty]

nothing personal stugot just got to urpost and lost it in no way dirrecred at or to u in any way everyrhing said said was in general not directed to u

[dakota560]

Wow amazing what draws reactions these days. Arbutis....great job on the pb bass and great report. This past Thursday I ran out to the deep with a few friends. Went 1 for 2 on nice eyeballs. On the way back in we encountered problems with the starboard motor overheating. After checking everything out, we thought it might have been a blockage in the water intake. About 75 miles out, had to jump in the water to check the intake. Never realized how difficult it was to swim under a boat for a few minutes to check it out which by the way ended up not being the problem. Point is it was tough to do and probably would be I'd guess for most people.

Now we have a report of someone who dove 55 feet with one breathe, stayed down long enough for a vortex of bass to surround him, pick the one he wanted, be true to his aim and swim back up with his trophy! I could care less if anyone considers that a sport or not, that is one amazing feat!!!!! Is it something 99% of the people on this site could do....absolutely not. Very impressive accomplishment and awesome report. Lesson is we'll never all share the same opinions of what constitutes right and wrong but should all be opened minded and respectful that there are actually definitions different than our own. IMHO what these guys did was pretty mindboggling.

Aside from that, I'll always take one guy who has no doubt invested a ton of time and money pursuing his hobby / sport in spearfishing taking one trophy fish over a dragger wiping out an entire school in one pass with his nets.

GREAT job and an experience I can guarantee almost everyone on this site would love to have shared.

[shrimpman steve]

First, congrats on the PB.
I used to scuba dive and spearfish. Much more selective then dropping a line.

I have a friend in montauk who can hold his breath for five minutes. I know, I've seen it. He also speared his first mako this year. Now that is insane. He spearfishes tuna so his spear is like an elephant gun. For you naysayers who say there is no way he speared a mako, your wrong and it was 175 pounds at the scale.

He just missed the U.S. free diving team because he blacked out at five minutes

[Arbutis]

Spearing a mako and a 5 minute breath hold - both superhuman status feats. I'm lucky to get a little over a minute on the bottom but out of the water I max out at a little over 3.

[NJ Dave]

Wow. Congrats.
My fat ass couldn't hold my breath long enough to patch my 4 foot deep swimming pool. It was quite comical according to my wife.

[ColdFoot]

the drag netters are out there catching and killing everything in their path, don't think they don't swipe up schools of big breeding bass. They might throw them back over board, dead, but let's look at the big picture. Drag nets are distroying our fisheries, Not recrational fisherman, rod or spear.

[Dino]

the drag netters are out there catching and killing everything in their path, don't think they don't swipe up schools of big breeding bass. They might throw them back over board, dead, but let's look at the big picture. Drag nets are distroying our fisheries, not recrational fisherman, rod or spear.

this guy gets it.

[Arbutis]

the drag netters are out there catching and killing everything in their path, don't think they don't swipe up schools of big breeding bass. They might throw them back over board, dead, but let's look at the big picture. Drag nets are distroying our fisheries, not recrational fisherman, rod or spear.

exactly right.

[seadog]

Wow lots of negative posts on this one. I have no idea why. That is a fantastic accomplishment. Congratulations. Great job. I'm sure I could get down 55". I would need a 20 lb weight and I'm not sure I could hit a fish and I know I wound never come back up,but I could get down there.

[reason162]

I'm sure I could get down 55". I would need a 20 lb weight and I'm not sure I could hit a fish and I know I wound never come back up,but I could get down there.

Well by that logic you can surely reach 1000 ft as well! :)

I'm on the fence as to spearfishing, esp when it comes to sedentary species like fluke, but I can appreciate the accomplishment nonetheless.

[b_mac]

I personally don't eat Stripers so I'm certainly not posting dock pictures of my limit. Actually fish 3 days or more per week so I'm not tied to any dock . Furthermore I dont hate any guy that spearfishes , just don't approve of the method !
As far as PB's

Sword 464
Tuna 975 , w20 plus Gts landed over 500#'s
BE 313
YF 243
Striper 49
Striped marlin 187 fly rod
Wahoo 993/4
Sails 72 / 120 fly & conventional
Spearfish 45
White 89
Tarpon 125 6 # class. Caught over 25 on fly !
Landed 7 swords in one night 143 to 297 NJ
Steelhead Fly 25#
Cod 52#
Pollock 43#
Mako 500#
35 trout over 5#'s in 5 seasons out of public waters local !
Fluke 10.5 lbs
Walleye 13,7 lbs Fly Rod
Brown trout 19#'s LO chartered 14 years
Tog 15#
Tilefish 48#'s
Bluefish 21#
BM 350 #

I've actually spent more time in canyon than most ,almost 25 seasons & hundreds of trips from 1967 to 2004 when fishing was very good almost all days ! I've had the pleasure of fishing in 12 countries & love
fishing most all types .
So I'm not any hater of fishing just don't like spear fishing :mad::cool:
PS non of above taken w / spear ! Couple were harpooned ! :D

Capt Lou
100 ton master
7th issue


My Hero

[gnuisance]

Well, I've argued this point before in favor of spearfishing. As long as you know your size and quota limits, spearfishing (in theory) has a much, much, much lower incidental kill percentage than any other means of fishing. Think of the bicatch of the commercial trawlers or netters and think of all of the gut hooked or fowl hooked or undersized fish that are killed every day by commercial or recreational fishing.
Spearfishermen take only what they will eat (in theory) and 'release' all of the other fish unharmed.

As far as taking bass over 40 pounds. Well, you got me there. Good breeder stock and unnecessary to kill for any reason. My only defense is that is was a PB and I ate it for several meals. If there was a 100 pound fish I would have shot that one instead because it's only natural to want to push our own personal bests in the sports we enjoy. And yes, it is a sport. And a damn hard one at that. (did I mention I got 55 ft down on one breath - I'm pretty proud of that if you haven't got that message yet);)

Your first point makes very good sense. I like to think that an educated and experienced angler can fight and release a fish safely and the fish will survive but I have no science to prove that.

And I also concede that if I caught a 40 pounder I might possibly keep it because that would be a PB for me also. I also might take lots of pictures and good measurements and release the fish and have a replica made. I don't fault you at all for your choice as you were within the law and obviously are passionate about what you do. Thanks for your reply