After an eighteen-year hiatus from competitive spearfishing, the time seemed right to attempt a comeback of sorts. Especially since I was now 56 years old and could compete in the Master’s Division of the World Freshwater Spearfishing Championship. I would also get to team up with longtime teammate and dear friend, Gerald Lim, a former two-time Individual National Spearfishing Champion. Gerald would be shaking the rust off from a seventeen-year break from competitive spearfishing as well. After such a long layoff, we realized that the possible outcomes ranged anywhere from outright embarrassing ourselves, to winning. Luckily for us, it was the latter. Moreover, we had the time of our lives!
This would only be my second time competing in freshwater. In Table Rock Lake in the 2005 Nationals, I was a non-factor for the only time in a spearfishing career that included 10 consecutive National Championships and a World Championship in Cabo Frio, Brazil. That crushing defeat in Missouri ended up being my last National Championship. Coming into this tournament, I had doubts that I could get it done in freshwater, or that I would find freshwater spearfishing rewarding, or that this tournament would be professionally run. I would soon get my answers.
It was clear from early on, that freshwater spearfishing would pose many, if not all, of the same challenges that saltwater spearfishing does. The game fish, namely stripers, catfish, and walleye would be extremely hard to get in this championship and would require all of one’s hunting savvy. It was an absolute treat to work with Gerald and our boat captain, Brian Williams, on solving these fish. We were constantly brainstorming and sharing observations to make each other better. It very quickly transported me back to some of the best times of my life, as the teamwork was always my favorite part of tournament diving back in the day.
The risk of getting embarrassed on game fish day was real, all the way up until the day before the tournament when all our hard work started to pay off. We began to see how we would get a smattering of all three species by diving 5 very different spots utilizing very different skills (deeper and longer dives below the thermocline for stripers with 90cm guns, dives in 15’-20’ of water for walleye, and shallow, dirty water diving for catfish).
On game fish day, Gerald and I would each shoot 10 fish, good for 30 points each and putting us squarely in second place in the Master’s Division. It had been hard diving and we were exhausted but also energized at how much fun the day had been. It was an absolute joy to realize that we could function even better as a team than we had done in our heyday. Later, I was informed that one of my fish, a 10.2 pound catfish, was the largest fish taken and a new State Record!
On day two, or carp day, our plan was to go into the extremely dirty water for our carp. We were not sure, but we felt that we could still get fish in less than 1 foot of visibility. Especially since Gerald grew up spearfishing in very low visibility conditions in Singapore. Coming from Hawaii, I was less sure. We had also noticed that our dirty water spots, once thick with mating carp, were getting more and more sparse the closer it got to tournament day.
Overall, our strategy worked except that, as we had expected, the carp had really thinned on our spots. Furthermore, because I had to attend to an emergency for the two weeks prior to leaving for this championship, I was unable to adhere to all of Mike McGuire’s gear suggestions. In every case where my gear was different than what Mike had suggested, my gear either failed, cost me carp, or slowed me down. I managed a respectable 48 carp while Gerald slayed 65. After a few tense moments waiting for all to weigh-in, we received word- Gerald was second place in the Master’s Division and I was third and we were the team champions!
Winning was fantastic but this tournament was so well run, with such a superb, challenging format, that it gave us so many gifts that we never expected. The scenery was unreal, the comradery was amazing, and the atmosphere was so fun from start to finish. The week was one we will never forget and Gerald and I have vowed to return, better the next time from all that we had learned.
Till next time. Dive safe,
Ken Lee
