Over the years I have enjoyed the company of many divers.  Marty Pasos shot this 90 lb. yellow fin at Soccoro Island at age 75. Marty is the last Bottom Scratcher inducted into the 70 year old spearfishing club based in San Diego. Marty and Jack Prodanovich pioneered big game bluewater hunting in the remote Baja California waters. These remarkable seasoned gentlemen have led and guided all of us to become more competent spearfishermen. 

Notice the Jack Prodanovich speargun in the foreground.  It has an Alvey Australian reel and buoyancy floats.  These floats are detachable in case the reel gets stripped.  The gun will be saved, then you must go after the floats.

Yellow fin tuna are sought as large game fish.  In past years divers chartered yachts to travel to the Revillagigedo Islands off Mexico to hunt for this magnificent fish.  Due to the lobbying efforts of Mike McGettigan and his SeaWatch Marine Conservation group (endorsed by bluewater hunters and underwater cinematographers Terry Maas, Ron Mullins and others) as well as certain Mexico based environmental diving groups, these remote islands are no longer accessible for sport spearfishing, line fishing, or commercial fishing. If you once thought you might like to visit these relatively remote islands FORGET IT NOW.

Several years ago Bill Kroll and Doug Ulmer made a trip to La Paz in Baja California.  They discovered nice yellow fin tuna swimming around an offshore bank.  Both Doug and Bill took several yellow fin on this trip.

Unfortunately Bill Kroll (left) is no longer with us.  He drowned at Catalina Island while hunting his favorite fish, white seabass.  The Long Beach Neptune Dive Club placed a monument on the bottom of the ocean at Catalina as a memorial to Bill Kroll's last dive.

Young Daniel Wert is following in his dad's tradition.  Don Wert is training his son to be a competent bluewater hunter.  At age 12, Dan has caught albacore, marlin, wahoo and speared yellowtail.  Dan shot this fine calico bass with a modified Prodanovich three band gun his father made for him.

There are few sports which are as challenging as freediving and spearfishing. My admiration goes out to all those predecessors, living and dead who have educated us in the traditions and skills of underwater hunting with a speargun. Errors and excesses in a previous age of abundance may have caused some of the icons of our sport of underwater hunting to turn against our previous cherished freedoms.  The book written by Carlos Eyles, The Last of the Bluewater Hunters, although stimulating in it's content fortold a time when politicized underwater big game hunters would promote closure of access to traditional hunting grounds in favor of hunting fish with a camera and the commercial sale of their highly-edited product.

My advice to individuals who want to maintain the sport of underwater spearfishing is to hold true to one rule. NO CAMERAS ON  THE BOAT! It's a bitter fate to lose traditional hunting grounds due to efforts of your own tribe.