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29/06/2006: "A NICE FISH ........ spearing of an Australian record"
The Snapper was dozing near a ledge at Jibbon Point, just off the Royal National Park near Sydney.
From a distance I thought the silver body was that of the first mulloway/jewfish I had seen.
With stealth I crept toward this potential prize catch for me, by swimming out of sight hidden by the reef ledge and then approaching from above – (where I should have attempted a shot).
Being a 20 year-old, not knowing any better, I then swam down to an equal depth about five meters deep where the fish was positioned stationery and leveled off for a profile shot.
In retrospect I gave the fish a very good chance of simply swimming away.
The home made spear gun with a single flopper was still a bit rough in the trigger department too.
The snapper was in a full profile position when the trigger clicked – at that point the fish flicked to face the approaching spear front-on.
I didn’t see the fish move. I was so out of breath and now racing for the surface, heart pounding with great excitement.
Result – my spear entered the most difficult section of these reef fish – solid bone between the eyes, it what would be the bridge of the nose.
The spear should have slid either side and missed the fish altogether but didn't. It was a miracle.
(The spear "head" didn't exist it was simply a point machined onto the spear shaft with a single flopper).
To penetrate solid bone on a thin shaped fish (facing you) and also a moving at the same time is hard to imagine, even today with all the spear fishing experience that has followed.
It was a obviously a new Australian spear fishing record we thought at the time. My boat companions were my father John senior, girlfriend Kay Milburn and Ken Campbell (Sydney Sea Hunters).
Ken was more experienced than me and insisted we weigh the fish immediately.
Rusty scales in storage under an old general store at nearby Bundeena revealed a weight of either 23 or 24 pounds – we chose the higher of the two choices.
Spear fishing club scales a few hours later recorded an even lighter weight as the fish began to dry out – more like 22.5 pounds but still heavier than the current state record by about five pounds.
The single fish introduced me to a career in the new world open to photo journalism. The Sun newspaper published a front page photo of the fish titled The Old Man of the Sea – adding in the text details "the fish was older than the man who speared it and probably a lot tougher".
This wasn't so. Snapper are "A" grade fish and this one tasted like lobster we thought.
The Australian Museum made a cast of the head - with regrets they did not have the whole fish. Too late, it was eaten.
