The 2023 WFSC was held May 16-20, 2023 in Lake Powell, Page Arizona, USA
After 3 very successful WFSCs over the past 6 years, it was time for the USA to step up to the plate and really make a huge effort to place in these events.
In WFSC 2017 (Lake Mead), New Zealand, South Africa, Guam, and others dominated the podium.
In 2019, In New Zealand, New Zealand destroyed almost everyone in every division with a few special performances by Italy, South Africa, and the USA Girls.
By 2021 the USA was ready to control the trophies in Beaver Lake, Arkansas, USA. We had our top divers there and most had experience in this lake before.
But by the end of the event Ukraine had demonstrated an incredible diving performance with all 5 divers on one boat.
Ukraine controlled the men’s division and the women division and the Mixed doubles division.
The USA did control the Master’s division and placed well in the 2-5 positions. This was a super surprise for the USA divers having lost badly in two events in the USA.
So, in 2022, the USA hosted their Nationals in Lake Powell, Page, AZ. This led to picking our best team for the WFSC in the same lake a year later.
The only problem was the lake had changed about 10m in depth and the water was 10 degrees warmer.
This made for a new diving area for everyone. About as fair as an event can get.
Divers came in from 10 countries and had up to 10 days to scout for this event. Most divers scouted 4-6 days.
Conditions were good, with visibility up to 10m and water temp just reaching 70-72 degrees.
Carp were in a full spawn and were found deep in almost every bay with nearly no visibility.
NFSA, our local Freshwater Spearfishing Organization put on a very professional show with a fun introduction/ rule evening
2 well organized days of diving for different fish in the same region of the lake.
And as a finale, they offered a fun free day racing Can-Ams, hiking Antelope Canyon, and spearfishing for the newer divers and kids…Then came the Banquet and awards.
One of the better events ever produced in the world. Well done NFSA.
Day 1 - Game Fish Day
This was a hunting challenge. 3 different species: Catfish, Walleye, and striper
You were allowed 8 catfish and 8 walleye, and unlimited striper. All these fish required different hunting styles and the ability to hunt in different regions.
Most of the diving required longer waits, with NO movements at all. This really brought out the best hunters. Fish were awarded 3 points per fish.
Top Diver, to no one’s surprise, was Darren Shields of New Zealand, in the Master division, with 19 fish. He now owned the Master’s division and would be tough to catch. But watch out for Tim Nelson of Australia with 13 and, Lee and Lim with 10 each.
Top Men’s division divers were Justin Lee with 16, Graham Carlisle with 14, Mike Kennedy 13, Mike Livingston 11, Kenny Western 10, and Kelston McGuire–Spencer Vivian both with 8 game fish each.
This put the Justin and Kennedy team in front by 13 points. Livingston and Western were in 2nd, with Kelston and Spencer in 3rd.
The top women were Julie with 7 game fish, Anne and Feena with 5, Shelby with 4, and Anna and Cavell with 2 each.
In the women team division, we had a tie at the end of the first day: Feena and Anna 7 fish, and Anne and Cavell with 7 fish, but lots of carp to come.
The Mixed teams saw Julie and Javier jump in front with 13 fish and close behind was the Peterson with 9, It was anyone game here with the Petersons being experts with carp.
Game fish day was very difficult and saw the world’s best do what they do best, hunt with the focus and intensity required to make fish happen. Well done.
Day 2 - Unlimited Carp Day
Unlimited carp shooting is a very unique opportunity to help the Parks Dept to clean these invasive species out of the lake.
Although we really don’t ever put a dent in the carp population, we do have fun removing what we can. All fish were used in local farmlands as fertilizer.
Carp are tough fish, sometimes very easy to shoot but never easy to handle. They don’t die easily and can cause the biggest entanglements you have ever seen.
With an average weight near 7 pounds shooting 50 carp means you’re dealing with 350 pounds of carp and shooting 100 carp could mean 700 pounds of carp. that’s 3 garbage can completely full.
The logistics of shooting this many times, landing each of these fish, then dealing with their sheer weight can be the most insane excitement many spearos will ever have.
In most divisions, the scores were close enough that a great carp day could change the places around pretty quickly, but carp days are more about logistically handling lots of fish as compared to the hunting skills needed for the first Game fish day.
This combination of skilled hunting and unlimited shooting mass quantities of crazy carp makes this a very unique event and opportunity to challenge top divers with.
After another 6-hour day of diving the fish rolled in and in the men’s division and it appeared the Livingston- Western team had pull in front of their rivals 143 carp to Kennedys and Justins 102. A lot of carp and a ton of Weight.
and no one appeared to have done better…… Until the last team checked in.
Darvil and Fernando our OC divers from Ca. Had found a wild spawn of carp that they were able to shoot into almost randomly and get multiple carp per shot. They figured this system out on the fly as the spawn was so thick and so out of control.
They shot 221 together and they filled 6 garbage cans completely full. They were in nearly last place after gamefish day, but with this outstanding performance by both of them they were now tied for first place individually at 115 points.
This gave them the win with 230 points, and Darvil having the bigger large carp won the tiebreaker to take first place and Fernando to 2nd place overall in the men’s division of the WFSC. A totally unexpected insane performance that they have done once before.
In 2nd place team was Livingston and Wester, with 206 points. 3rd was Justin and Kennedy with 189 and fourth place was Kelston and Spencer with 132. All from the USA. This was a super exciting division right to the last minute.
Master division
While all the big Carp weight was coming in, Darren Shields carefully watched as his #1 spot in the event snuck away by 1 point. He ended up with 114, just one carp away from tying Darvil and Fernando. But New Zealand’s best took total control over the Master division as an individual with 114 points, Lim had 95, Lee 78, GR Tarr 72, and M. McGuire 63. The master’s team was another surprise, as our USA team from Hawaii and Ca had retired 18 years ago and came out of retirement just for this event. Lim and Lee were down by 12 points to the New Zealand Team Darren and Ian, and caught them and beat them with their consistent scores on both days173 to 157. And in 3rd place was our Florida team with a great performance and 131 points, GR Tar and Ben Fertic.
Again, a fun unexpected finish and the USA took 2 team and 2 individual awards away. With New Zealand getting the top individual spot and 2nd place team.
Women’s Division
Our Top Girl from last year’s Nationals did it again. Julie Higgs did well on game fish and just needed to stay consistent on Carp day.
Her 53 carp was enough to keep her in first place individually and she became the first USA woman to WIN a world competition.
Right behind her was our local Girl Shelby Peterson with 45 carp, then our first diver ever from Great Britain, Feena with 26 carp.
Next our newest freshwater spearo Anna with 25 and Anne with 24 carp. See the complete scoreboard under the Results section.
Individually the USA women took home 4 of the 5 trophies sharing the 3rd place trophy with Feena from Great Britain. Great job by all.
Just an honorable mention here as Shelby shot a state record Striper on Carp Day and gave us all a thrill. About 25 pounds.
Women’s Team Division:
After Day1 we had a tie for first place in the women’s team division, so the winner was picked on carp day.
The pressure was on, but these 4 girls dove on the same boat and made the most of the opportunity to make friends and have fun.
In the end, Feena from GB and Anna from the USA got the most carp and took home the World Championship trophies.
2nd place team was Anne and Cavell, and 3rd our newest team Jessica and Ariana of the USA.
As an honorable mention, Anna Hilton of USA, is now our official CARP QUEEN, having won this honor by diving into a trailer full of slimy Carp, and smiling the whole time.
Mixed Doubles Division:
This division has grown to be one of the most popular and competitive divisions of all.
Many of the top men and women love it as they get the chance to dive with a daughter or husband.
After the Game fish day, Julie and Javier were up by 12 points over the local favorites Ryan and Shelby Peterson.
The Petersons won Carp Day with 106 fish, Julie and Javier had 99, and the Guam team with Dad, Michael, and Daughter Carmela at 81
The Petersons were 5 points- 5 carp shy of catching Julie and Javier.
The final score was First place team in WFSC Mixed doubles Julie and Javier of Florida 138 points, 2nd place the Petersons of Utah 133, 3rd place was Michael and Carmela of Guam 87, 4th place Matt and Nicole 79, and 5th place in the world Ivan and Lydia with 38 points.
Once again, the USA did exceptionally well sharing 3rd place with a couple of great Guam divers.
Honorable mention goes to the Guam Team for the best smiles in the world. It is always a pleasure to have our friends from Guam here.
Our first Event “World’s Best Captain” was also awarded.
We had so many great captains this year and 5 were women that probably all should have won.
Our thanks also go out to all our volunteers, and there are way too many to list. Just know we appreciate you and love you all.
WORLD’S BEST CAPTAIN went to Jesse of lakepowellguideservices.com.
Yes, he is a pro captain, but he gave so much more to his team and our sport.
In conclusion, we would like to thank all our Sponsors who really do make these events possible.
And for all the locals that put in so much time: NFSA, Jimbo / Matti our weigh masters, Mike Retford on everything, Tom, the boat master, Bob at Upland Adventures, and Bryant at Pizza Hut.
WFSC will be switching to even years starting in 2024 or 2026. We want to avoid crowding odd years with CMAS world events.
Please watch the website for updates and event reviews, photos, and video clips…
We are working hard to bring the event to South Africa for some real wild spearfishing and back to New Zealand, one of the most beautiful lands in the world.
Both sites will be great for Freshwater competitions and have tons of additional activities.
We had some great Photographers and videographers at this event. Look them up for pictures videos, and cool articles.
- Evan Frost: Evanfrostphoto@gmail.com
- Alex Info for a full video on the event TBA
A huge Thanks to Apena Passion and our CMAS spearfishing president/reporter
- Valentina Prokic
They broadcasted the event live and have a great article on the above website.
Mike McGuire
WFSC, NFSA
