Bahamas National Spearfishing Team competes in the World Freshwater Spearfishing Championship

On the 18th and 19th May, 2017, four members of The Bahamas Freediving and Spearfishing Association competed in the World Freshwater Spearfishing Championship in Lake Mead, Nevada, U.S.A. The four members of the association Luke Maillis, Gregory Maillis, Alexandro Mullings and Adrian Phillips, comprised two teams in the mens division, as well as to compete individually. Team Captain Luke Maillis, along with Gregory Maillis, comprised team one, while Alexandro Mullings and Adrian Phillips comprised team two. To date, this is the first time in history for a Bahamas National Spearfishing team to compete in an international spearfishing competition.

The World Freshwater Spearfishing Championship was hosted in Las Vegas, Nevada where competitors spearfished for two days in Lake Mead. The event was attended by 67 competitors from 13 different countries. For day one of the event the target species was Stripe Bass, a very challenging character of fish to hunt, which demands advanced skills to capture. This species accounted for 3 points per fish of any size, with the largest fish as a tie breaker. The second day target species was common Carp which accounted for 1 point per fish of any size, as well as the largest fish being a tie breaker. Both are invasive species that have overpopulated Lake Mead requiring eradication by local fisherman and wardens. The championship helped to serve an environmental roll towards controlling the populations and all fish were donated towards a good cause.

Team Bahamas traveled to Las Vegas on the 13th of May, where they spent four days before the championship getting organized with gear, scouting for fish, and field testing equipment. They hired a local charter captain and dedicated a day of diving outside of the competition zone. The best option was the Colorado river where they were able to test out the different weapons of choice, being Hawaiian sling and pole spear, as well as the spear gun. They were able to learn the different characters of fish that they would target as well as adapting to the foreign environment of freshwater, altitude, and extreme water temperatures of 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Team member Adrian Phillips was able to shoot and land a large Stripe Bass with his Evolve Pole spear, being one of the Largest Bass taken that week among all of the competitors. (Shame it was not during the competition) The day before the competition, was dedicated to scouting the competition zone of Lake Mead where the team searched for locations that hold fish. While not many fish were sighted, the team had to create a game plan based on their best understanding of the challenging environment. The two teams hired two different boats with some of the most knowledgeable local captains available.

Day one, target species being Stripe Bass, the plan was to seek the advice of their hired local knowledge. With the game plan in mind for both teams to dive in the same location, they departed with a scurrying start at the sound of the committee horn. They raced multiple boats to the favored locations of the local captains. As both teams were in route, one of the boats with Alex and Adrian on board had engine trouble and quickly fell behind the fleet. Luke and Gregory continued on with the game plan and arrived at the recommended location of the local captains. They found a spawning school of Stripe Bass with local fishermen nearby catching numbers of two and three hundred fish. Eagerly excited to jump in the water, Luke and Gregory were courteous to give room to the local fishermen and started spearfishing with ample distance from them. To their disappointment, the conditions were impossible to hunt, as the water visibility at a depth of 30ft was a mere 12 inches. They tried deeper water in hopes of better visibility but found themselves sitting on the bottom in 45 ft of water in almost pitch black darkness. With the sound of hundreds of schooling Stripe bass surrounding them. They were frustrated to have to leave the location in search of better visibility.

At this time, Alex and Adrian were nowhere in sight and were forced to find an alternate diving location. With their quick thinking and intuition, they searched around in bays and reeds where they hoped to find Stripe Bass feeding on baitfish. To their success, Alex was able to come across a good location where he dived to the bottom and lay wait. Eventually, a medium size Stripe Bass approached him. Alex began to ambush him along the bottom and wait for the opportune moment to take the shot. As the fish turned to the side, Alex made a quick clean shot on target and landed his first Bass of the competition with a Rob Allan 80cm speargun. Adrian was braving the cold water while diving with a cold, but was struggling to equalize and found it very challenging to push himself in such conditions. At a huge disadvantage having engine trouble and a dive buddy sick with a cold, they were still able to putt around from spot to spot while Alex continued to shoot three more Stripe Bass throughout the day.

Meanwhile on Luke and Gregory’s boat, they struggled to find adequate areas to dive. With the local guides providing alternate locations, they hunted an area nearby where the visibility was a workable 5 to 6 ft and a depth between 40 to 25 ft. They continued to make repetitive dives to the bottom where they lay in wait for up to 2 minutes at a time, in hopes of ambushing a Stripe Bass. Dive after dive with no success, Gregory spotted a Stripe Bass that he speared with his Evolve pole spear. After a few moments of fighting, the soft fleshy fish ripped from the spear and swam away into the darkness. Luke then spotted a Stripe Bass that approached him on the bottom. As it started swimming away to the side he struggled to track and take aim with his 110cm Rob Allan speargun. He was able to fire a shot at the figure of the fish that swam off into the darkness, when suddenly the shooting line came tight and he fought the fish to the surface landing his first Bass of the competition. After more unsuccessful dives, Luke and Gregory decided to head for clear water nearby the Hoover Dam, where they continued the hunt. With water conditions much better and visibility a good 30 ft, Gregory knew he would have been at a disadvantage with the pole spear and switched to a Rob Allan 110cm Speargun. With his new selection of weapon he was able to take a long shot and land the largest Stripe Bass out of the Bahamas team, weighing in at 2.04lbs . Luke was also able to shoot and land another bass at the end of the day, rounding up a total count of 3 Bass for Luke and Gregory. Alex and Adrian had to cut their diving time short and start slowly putting back into the weigh in, where to their surprise, had the most fish of the day amongst the Bahamas teams.

Day two the target species was Carp. Having seen Carp the day before in certain locations the teams had it in mind to split off with the two boats and race around to the best places before other divers. With an anticipated winning quota of 20 fish per hour, the race against time was everything. Luke and Gregory started diving the deeper ledges of the Hoover Dam where they were shooting a few fish here and there, not 20 fish an hour, but not far behind pace. Alex and Adrian ventured across the lake where they saw fish the day before, but were unfortunate to find themselves as the last to arrive. With so many competitors eagerly racing to the fish, everyone strives to be the ‘’early bird who gets the worm’’. While Luke and Gregory were working the ledge of the dam, a Stripe Bass approached Gregory. Although not a species that would qualify for the day, Gregory’s true Spearo sportsman instincts kicked in and he shot and landed possibly the first ever Stripe Bass with Hawaiian sling. A victorious personal accomplishment that gives all of the team members a feeling of admiration towards Gregory’s skills and sportsmanship. Luke was making good head way with the Carp, consistently averaging a Carp on every other dive. Alex and Adrian had to hustle their catch among a lot of competition as they were among the fleet of other divers. Alex continued using the Rob Allan Speargun while Adrian being a sniper with the pole spear, used his most familiar and challenging weapon. Struggling to equalize, Adrian battled through the conditions and continued to pick off the Carp with his Evolve pole spear.

The final results of both days.

Mens team division:

The Bahamas team of Luke and Gregory placed 8th out of 16 teams in the mens division with a total of 85 points. 3 Stripe Bass and 76 Carp
Alex and Adrian placed 15th out of 16 teams in the mens division with a total of 30 points 4 Stripe Bass and 18 Carp

Overall individual world champions:

Luke placed 6th out of 67 with a total of 58 points. 2 Stripe Bass and 52 Carp.
Gregory placed 34th out of 67 with a total of 27 points. 1 Strip Bass and 24 Carp.
Alex placed 43rd out of 67 with a total of 20 points. 4 Stripe Bass and 8 Carp.
Adrian placed 55th out of 67 with a total of 10 points. 0 Strip Bass and 10 Carp

The four Athletes that comprise ‘’Team Bahamas’’: