2009 U.S.A. National Spearfishing Championships

 

What ya mean? it was cold???

I was warmed by the thought of possible sea kitten lovers on the beach after! Yeah, being from norcal the water was slightly nicer than ours, but I had dreams of using a 3mm suit for this meet. That disappeared quickly! The fish did seem to leave meet day, but that's not uncommon. Fortunately for me, I found out where they went and managed what I thought was a respectable catch. NEVER in a hundred years did I think I was gonna win this. Even at the end, I knew I had a good catch, but figured Ryan, Brandon, Richie, Austin, Bill, etc would show me who was boss.

After hitting the beach, and getting reports of others fish, I felt optimistic that our team would hit the podium. My goal this year was to do well, take it easy on the scouting, and finish in the top ten individual, with no real guess on where the team would wind up. I knew Bob and I were there to see everyone, and have some fun, and support Justin in his bid to make the all American team. Even closing in on the weigh in table, having guys tell me " you got it dude", I could not believe it. After weighing in, and all 14 of my fish making length, I started to accept that I had probably won this, and for sure our team had won,,,,,, I was dumbfounded.

I called Mike McGuire and told him the news with tears in my eyes, then his brother glen who without these two guys help I may not have done as well. They graciously gave me all they're info from past nationals here, and even though they're bearings were 12yrs old, I managed to pull a few out. I called my family and between tears and hysterical laughter managed to tell them what happened, then went off to Neptunes to enjoy some nasty fried food and beer with team, family, and mi amigos from NORCAL.

My calicos were all about 6lbs, and I've shot pargo that were easier to extract from the holes than these guys! At one time, I had two fish, on two different shafts tied up in the same hole! I spent 30-40 minutes just getting those two fish and shafts out of the hole! FWIW, I shot the second fish because I thought it was the first one that had torn off and was wounded laying upside down. My shaft was still jammed up in the crack, and I did not know that the first fish was still on the shaft! After getting the second one in the boat, I went back for the brand new Mori shaft, and cramming myself up into the crack managed to get a hand on it, and pop it loose. I felt the fish still on there, and went to work extracting him as well. I had my shoulder against the rock, pulling hard and felt it start to come, then had to surface. Dropped again, and saw it was half way out, but still hung up, so I shot it again with a 60cm, but when I pulled on that shaft, it just came back free, so I dropped everything and just gave it hell on the Mori shaft, and the entire mess came out in a huge mess.

For those divers that don;t believe its all about location,,,,,,, the hole I got 7 fish out of, I'm 90% sure was the same hole that Glen Mcguire shot his out of in 97'. I had found a good crack that sounded like what he was telling me about, but knew that at least 6 other divers had it as well. Monday eve I talked to glen, and described the hole, he said "no, that's not it". Crap! Now I had to spend Tuesday swimming my ass off trying to find it. I found this hole, but did not think it was his from what he had described to me, but felt it would be a good hole once the shooting started, and it was. For those that do not know, in 97' Mike, Glen, and John Plikus had this meet won, but due to a protest Mike got DQ'd and they lost the title. Mike would have won 1st individual as well. It was great to go back this year and win this thing, most likely on glens spot, and bring some payback!

I want to congratulate everyone who was there, Harold Gibson from Norcal showed what it was about placing second individual!!!! WAY TO GO FUZZ!!! Justin Allen, last years champ hit #3 with a great showing and big fish of the meet!! Hanalei Adric #4 showed that cold water never slows a true champ. Never heard him whine once about it! And big boy Richard Balta with his first national comp, hitting #5 and winning novice of the year!!!!!!! Way to go Rich. Anne Doherty coming out of the northeast for her second national women's title!!!!!!!!!!!! Bonnie's smiling down on us dear.

Bill and Amanda showing the true spirit hosting a houseful of us at they're place, and taking #1 in mixed Way to go team Ernst!!! The food was outrageous, thanks to Phil and his crew for setting us up on that one! Even though the water temp dropped, overall conditions were rather pleasant, as the wind never made up to much, as it had been blowing good the 3 days prior in the afternoon, and the swell was minimal. Vis was 10-30ft in the north, with early being better before the tide change. If you were in the shallows, it stirred up a bit but thats to be expected.

So, thanks to all who worked hard to put this together, especially Erik, and thanks to all who showed up. Divers and families,,,,,, we forget what the families do to support the divers, so thanks for that! Thanks to Bill Ernst for letting us take over his house, use his garage, tools, water, whatever we needed! What a bonus that was. Thanks Bill! To my team mates Justin and Bob Humphrey, thanks guys. It was a true pleasure to do this one with you.

And one more thing. For those that spoke out against this meet happening in SOCAL this year, I hope you read the scores, and see what the real fish counts were. Once again, NOT ONE WORD AGAINST THIS MEET WAS TO BE HEARD!!!!! No PETA, sea kitten lovers, seal lovers, etc, etc, etc. Nothing but admiration and approval. Perch were a minimum, as they were very hard to come by longer than 14 inches, and I would bet that all of them were rubberlip.

Glad the charity was able to put the fish to good use, and I'm glad some of the divers were able to keep part of they're catch! I did not know they allowed that, or I would have kept a couple of those calicos!

Next year is Arkansas, so gear it up and head out for some big fish in freshwater!! This lake produces gar in excess of 100lbs, catfish in the 50lb range, buffalo and carp 30lbs, so it promises to be a great time!!

CENCAL ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dennis