The Tribune

A BAHAMAS national team competing in an international spearfishing competition for the first time acquitted themselves creditably at the two-day World Freshwater Spearfishing Championship in Lake Mead, Nevada, this month.

Four members of the Bahamas Freediving and Spearfishing Association - Luke Maillis, Gregory Maillis, Alexandro Mullings and Adrian Phillips - comprised two teams in the men's division as well as competing individually.

The championship attracted 67 competitors from 13 countries and split into two days with different target fish - Striped Bass on day one and Carp on the second. The pairing of Luke Maillis, the Bahamas team captain, and Gregory Maillis placed eighth out of 16 teams with a total of 85 points (three Bass and 76 Carp) while Mullings and Phillips were 15th with 30 points (four Bass and 18 Carp).

In the individual event, Luke Maillis was sixth with 58 points from two Bass and 52 Carp; Gregory Maillis was 34th with 27 points (one Bass and 24 Carp); Mullings placed 43rd with 20 points (four Bass and eight Carp): and Philllips was 55th with 10 points (10 Carp).

For day one, the target species was Striped Bass, a challenging character of fish to hunt, demanding advanced skills to capture. This species accounted for three points per fish of any size, with the largest fish as a tiebreaker. The second day target species was common Carp, which accounted for one point per fish of any size, as well as the largest fish being a tiebreaker.

Both are invasive species that have overpopulated Lake Mead requiring eradication by local fisherman and wardens. The championship helped to serve an environmental role in controlling the populations and all fish were donated towards a good cause.

Team Bahamas had travelled to Las Vegas to spend four days before the championship getting organised with gear, scouting for fish and field testing equipment. They hired a local charter captain and dedicated a day of diving outside the competition zone, the best option for which was the Colorado River where they were able to test the different weapons of choice - Hawaiian sling and pole spear - as well as the spear gun.

They were able to learn the different characters of fish that they would target in the competition as well as adapting to freshwater, altitude and extreme water temperatures of 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Phillips was able to shoot and land a large Striped Bass with his Evolve Pole spear; it was one of the largest Bass taken that week among all of the competitors (unfortunately it was not during the competition).

The day before the championship was dedicated to scouting the competition zone of Lake Mead where the team searched for locations that hold fish. While not many were sighted, the team had to create a game plan based on their best understanding of the challenging environment. The two teams hired different boats with some of the most knowledgeable local captains available.

With the advice of their hired local knowledge on day one, the Bahamians raced multiple boats to the favoured locations of the local captains. The boat with Mullings and Phillips on board suffered engine trouble and fell behind the fleet. The two Maillises found a spawning school of Striped Bass with local fishermen nearby catching 200 to 300 fish.

But the conditions were impossible to hunt in as visibility at a depth of 30 feet was a mere 12 inches. They tried deeper but found themselves sitting on the bottom in 45 feet in almost pitch black darkness with the sound of hundreds of schooling Stripe bass surrounding them. They were frustrated to have to leave in search of better visibility.

With their quick thinking and intuition, Mullings and Phillips searched in bays and reeds where they hoped to find Striped Bass feeding on baitfish. Mullings found a good location where he dived to the bottom and lay in wait. Eventually, a medium size Bass approached him and a quick, clean shot landed his first first of the competition with a Rob Allan 80cm speargun.

Phillips was diving with a cold and struggling to equalise so found it challenging to push himself in such chilly conditions. Mullings continued to shoot three more Bass throughout the day.

The Maillises hunted an area nearby where the visibility was a workable five to six feet at a depth between 25 and 40 feet. They made repeated dives to the bottom and lay in wait for up to two minutes at a time. Eventually Gregory Maillis spotted a Bass that he speared with his Evolve pole spear but it escaped into the darkness.

Luke Maillis landed his first Bass with his 110cm Rob Allan speargun after fighting the fish to the surface. After more unsuccessful dives, the pair decided to head for clear water nearby the Hoover Dam, where they they found better water conditions and visibility a good 30 feet.

Switching to a Rob Allan 110cm Speargun, Gregory Maillis was able to take a long shot and land the largest Bass out of the Bahamas team at 2.04lbs. Luke Maillis was also able to shoot and land another Bass at the end of the day while the other pair, who had to cut their diving time short were surprised to find they had the most fish of the Bahamas teams.

Having seen Carp the day before in certain locations, the teams had it in mind to split off with the two boats and race around to the best places before other divers on the second day. With an anticipated winning quota of 20 fish per hour, the race against time was everything.

The Maillises started diving the deeper ledges of the Hoover Dam, where they were not far behind the pace, while Mullings and Phillips ventured across the lake where they had seen fish the day before only to be the last to arrive.

While Gregory Maillis was working the ledge of the dam, a Striped Bass approached and although not a species that would qualify for the day, his spearfisher's instincts kicked in and he shot and landed possibly the first ever Bass with a Hawaiian sling. Luke Maillis made good headway, consistently averaging a Carp on every other dive.

The Bahamas team was spomnsored by Maillis & Maillis, Harbourside Marine, Rob Allen Dive Factory (Durban, South Africa), Trinox Diving (California). Evolve Diving (Kona, Hawaii) and all supporters of the FundrazR campaign.