Victorian Spearfishing State Titles 2021 (6-9 March)

Day 1 of the state titles was a washout with unsafe conditions on Saturday the 6th of March. Thankfully on day 2, the forecast cleared up a little and we were able to go ahead with the planned dive at Cape Schanck.

Although the conditions weren’t spectacular with 1-2m visibility, it was determined to be safe and drivable by our skilled competitors. The moment the starting whistle blew, divers descended the stairs with several sprinting ahead, opting not to conserve their energy (or maybe they had an excess!).

The majority of divers started on the western side, while others made the long swim towards Fingal in search of cleaner waters. Unfortunately, despite the long swim, they were still met with dirty water.

Fish were definitely still around, but it was hard work finding them. Burley brought out the fish, just not the right species. But, in a surprising turn of events, one of the competitors, Kim, had a crazy bull cray rush out from the safety of his rock and grab his burley pot as he was diving down to retrieve it! It came in at a nice sized 3.4kg!

Around the halfway mark, the tide turned and some lucky divers were sucked in, finding themselves in clearer water with more fish around. Bad luck for the guys who weren’t able to find clear water and gave up early!

Day 3 of the competition was held at Koonya. It wasn’t the almost glassy conditions as predicted. A solid southerly wind had picked up overnight, coupled with the 16-second swell interval leading to a very rough dive. If that wasn’t enough, the rain kicked in early and the runoff caused variable visibility between 1-7m.

Although these were trying conditions, some divers still managed to pull some cracking catches, including a 1.3kg snapper! Due to the horrid conditions, many divers came in early, opting instead for the splendid barbeque of classic Aussie snags and polish burger patties courtesy of Josef’s wife. 

Here are the Title Awards and the winners!

Champion -Kim Adair

Junior champion -Malachi Green

Ladies champion -Kaylah Charles

2 x $50 Adreno vouchers were awarded to two Junior competitors who won the below awards: 

Meritorious fish - Chris Rogers (Barber Perch)

Mystery fish - Kate Beckley (Blue Throat Wrasse)

For more information and updates check out the Southern Freedivers club. If you need additional tips and guidance on how to properly get started with spearfishing, visit theAdreno Spearfishing Blog now! You can also check out our massive range of spearfishing gear!