By: Brett Leable
How do you run a spearfishing tournament with no boats, canoes, or kayaks?
Nearly 80 of the United States’ top spearfishermen took to Lake Geneva with their fins, masks, snorkels, and spears, searching for the fish that would win the tournament.
The freshwater tournament took place on September 27 in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Teams had 10 days to scout beforehand, and a small practice zone to try and shoot their quarry.
Top competitors pushed the boundaries of their physical prowess and fish IQ to find the elusive carp, which was the largest of the two species that would score points for their chances to take home trophies.
The tournament organizers knew the clear water of Lake Geneva would provide a challenging environment for these intrepid men and women to find the podium.
Rock bass and carp
The smallest fish in the lake, and the most abundant, was on the menu for success: the rock bass. To be successful competitors had to shoot 20 of the largest rock bass they could find, and in the end, only one fish out of 1,000 weighed over 500 grams.
The second species for scoring points was the common carp. In this body of water, this fish is considered an invasive species. The reason for the classification is that they filter feed all the invertebrates that provide the base to the lake’s food source and ecosystem. In addition, while feeding, the carp vacuum up a lot of gamefish eggs that are lying in nests on the bottom. For that reason, the organizers targeted this species to help the overall health of the lake. Along with being a nuisance in the lake, the carp are some of its biggest residents!
In fact, one of the competitors set a new international underwater spearfishing record with a 43-pound carp during this event! According to Hunter McBride, the carp was swimming in about 50 feet of water when he slammed a spear into its side.
The results
Grit and determination won the day for the top men’s team: REDTIDE. Ritchie Zacker, the overall Men’s individual champion managed to swim his impressive bag of 25 fish 3 miles back to shore, all while nursing his recovery from a “Widow Maker” heart attack suffered in a spearfishing tourney the previous year. His partner, Masters individual champion and Red Tide Spearfishing owner GR Tarr, hauled his winning fish in by sheer determination after his spearing float sank in the wind-chopped waves from the gale that blew in during the tournament day!
Second-place men’s finisher Spencer Vivian faced boat traffic while repeatedly diving more than 40 feet in the middle of the lake, with recreational boats fishing around him.
The difference between Ritchie and Spencer was essentially two scales and an eyeball, as Ritchie had 0.06 of a pound, or about 27 grams more total weight than Spencer!
On the women’s side of the competition, Julie Higgs delivered another strong performance! She outpaced the competition by over 35% in points, brought 5 carp to the weigh table, and wound up in 4th position against all competitors!
Her team, Hammerhead, took first place in the mixed division easily, while a disqualification let Team Oceanammo squeak into 3rd place after Masters competitor and perpetual sportsman, Mike VanHeale reported himself ineligible for not making it back to shore in time!
The Masters Team Division was a close one, with two veterans of the competitive spearfishing world: Gerald Lim and Ken Lee of Hawaii, edging by Mike McGuire and Anne Doherty with less than 5% point spread between the experienced spearos! The oldest competitor ever, Dale Sanders a Team USA representative in 1970, dusted off his speargun and placed 5th with an incredible performance on rock bass!
New teams and individual competitors joined the veterans for a demanding day of competition and plenty of camaraderie at the Freshwater Nationals.
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