I competed in my first tournament in 2014. Since then I have competed in several local tournaments. In 2021 after multiple phone calls from Scott Turgeon I agreed to do my first Nationals. I agreed to do this last minute. Scott put me in touch with Javier and at that moment Javier and I agreed to compete as a mixed team and compete to win! Javier and I placed top mixed team and I placed female national Champion. Javier and I agreed to stay partners and compete together in 2022.
When the location of the 2022 Nationals was announced Javier and I decided to hire a guide. Due to the water level of Lake Powell rising and falling drastically navigation of the lake can be very difficult. Javier and I looked into rented a boat and hiring someone to drive for us and it just made sense to put the money toward a guide. I looked up Lake Powell Guides and Jesse was the first charter listed. I called Jesse and he said “ If you book me we are going to win!” I told him “ We are going to win! We have to titles to defend!” After calling a few other guides who were uninterested in taking divers to spearfish in their bass spots we called Lake Powell Guide Service and booked Jesse Romwell as our captain. We had no idea at the time what a good decision that was.
With minimal scouting Jesse, Javier, and I won top mixed team and female national champion. Jesse’s local knowledge really helped us in the tournament! After winning nationals together the 3 of us have kept in touch! When you accomplish something together like that it creates a special relationship. We kept each other updated on life, family, and strategies for Worlds. Jesse kept us updated on the lake and basically scouted all year. Javier and I figured out how to make speed stringers to maximize the amount of carp we could shoot in the time frame. We also talked about the mistakes we made last year that resulted in fish getting lost at the boat and how to prevent them this year.
We took Freshwater Worlds very Seriously! In preparation for the event Javier and I held a fundraiser. I have committed to 2 World tournaments this year and a Nationals so this will be an expensive year for me. Not only did this fundraiser help cover the expenses of the trip but it also allowed all of our friends and family to show us their support. It is truly an amazing feeling to see over a hundred people all in one place rooting you on! While Javier and I were working on that, Jesse was working on sponsors in Arizona! Mr. Yardley a good friend of Jesse’s agreed to let us use his house boat while we scouted and covered our fuel expenses. Being able to camp in zone allowed us to maximize our time scouting. Jesse had us in the water every day for 7 to 8 hours. We were on the lake for hours before we saw any other boats scouting.
All 3 of us gave it our all and it paid off! The best part about it is we had fun everyday. We worked well together and everything else fell into place. I know I don’t have to explain to you what a true asset to the team Jesse is. Jesse has the local knowledge but more importantly he has the work ethic to get ahead. I’m pretty sure we were the only team that was starting each day at 4am. One of our inside jokes of the trip was – “Jesse just tell me right or left” – . Having Jesse allowed us to focus on spearfishing and everything else was taken care of.
This tournament was a 2 day tournament. The first day was game fish day – unlimited striper, 8 catfish, and 8 walleye. Day 2 was carp day. On day 1 our plan was to hit the striper spots in the morning and our catfish spots in the afternoon. We did not see the striper that we had scouted. Striper are very spooky and the water was pretty dirty. I ended up with 1 striper and 6 catfish. I missed a few catfish that were sleeping and I took a few shots on catfish that ripped out. Every time this happens you wonder if that is the fish you needed to win! Game fish are 3 points per fish. I ended up with 7 fish 21 points. This gave me the lead for woman day 1 but only by 6 points. This was a good feeling but I knew anything could happen day 2.
Day 2 was carp day – 1 point per carp as many as you can shoot! I was very excited for this day because I created a speed stringer and I was excited to use it. The local people who compete in these tournaments use speed stringers and after practicing with it out of zone I was confident that it was going to be a game changer. The speed stringer worked great. I had 2 complete set ups and some spare parts. I had a flopper come loose, a band break, and a carp tie my shooting line in knots. But at the end of the day I had 53 carp and felt very confident. Jesse said that in the 6 hours of dive time we spent less than 45 min combined in the boat between dive spots.
In order to qualify for World’s you have to compete in Nationals for 2 years and rank. So last year when our team won Nationals we beat competitors who traveled from all over the USA and we won top mixed team and female National champion. This tournament was Worlds! We had 10 different Counties that were represented in this tournament. In other words the top ranked divers in the World! We won top mixed team and Women’s World Champion. There were 11 woman who competed. I personally ranked 12th over all against 56 competitors. I was hoping to maintain my streak of being in the top 10 over all but considering the level of the tournament I still think I did very well.
In addition to our mixed team and Woman Champion titles we were also awarded best Captain in the World. Javier and I sat down in front of the judges and listed all of the things that both Jesse and his wife Lisa did for us. It was clear that there was no better Captain in the World!
This event was truly an amazing experience. We did it! We accomplished our goals! We worked hard for it and it makes it feel that much better! Me made memories and friendships that will last a lifetime! I am so excited to start working on these YouTube videos! If you are interested in watching our teams adventures look up Julie Higgs Freshwater Worlds!
