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01/07/2006: "MY SEA DIARY ........Aust. Record Snapper"
Light winds, smooth seas 50 ft vis in parts.
We did not feel very much like going spear fishing today having completed a 28 mile hike yesterday to Palm Beach.
Ken Campbell came over to see us so we all shot off to Cronulla.
We found the seas nice and calm with a cloudy sky and a chance of rain.
I was fishing with my home made gun. We were getting some small mowies and tassies etc when I saw something silver at the bottom of a cunjevoi-covered ledge.
I swam around to the other side of the ledge – took a deep breath and dived.
At first I thought it was a small jewfish but when I leveled off I found it to be a snapper.
I looked at it for about 5 seconds while I was lining up for a good shot.
As I fired he must have flicked around because the spear hit him right between the eyes.
I quickly made for the surface. I could see him swimming around in circles below and got a little worried because I thought he might get off the spear so I dived and grabbed him in the gills.
At first I estimated the weight to be 15 pounds at the most. When we weighed him 20 minutes later he went 24 pounds.
I could hardly believe it. I had a state, Australian and Australsian record all in one.
Jack Evans took I (sic) few pictures of it and so did reporters from the Sydney Morning Herald and The Daily Mirror.
By John Harding (then aged 20) his notebook Sea Diary describing pictures shown in June 30, 2006 entries.
