Josh Lewis Wins 2nd Annual Tobago Free Dive Spear Fishing Challenge!
The 2nd Annual Tobago Free dive Spear fishing Challenge took place on the 7th and 8th of May in the village of Castara.
Josh Lewis, the overall winner on the Challenge.
Registration began on Friday and there was an impressive turnout of 34 spearos from both islands which also included four juniors.
After old friends were reacquainted and new friends were made, there was a safety briefing by the coast guard commander Leftenant Maharaj.
After boat inspection on Saturday morning, the spearo’s headed out to different spots around the island. The majority headed up to the Giles, which are islands where the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea meet.
Christian Reece with the Largest Fish, a 48lb Barracuda.
The diving conditions where perfect on the north coast where the visibility was about 80 feet and very calm. The south coast on the other hand was calm but not as clear. The scale opened at 2pm and by that time a large crowd had gathered to see what the spear fishermen had brought in.
The first fish to weigh in was a 22lb dolphin which was shot on a Fad by junior Curtis Silva.
Curtic with his 22lb Dolphin.
Next a group of young spearo’s from Trinidad who came across in very fast boat took the gamble of running 45 miles to a place called Darien Rock. It obviously paid off because they came to the scale with two coolers of fish to weigh.
The crowd looked on in awe as Christian Reece brought out a 48lb Barracuda to weigh, this turned out to be the largest fish of the tournament.
Chad Chu Cheung weighed in a nice 20lb barracuda.
Josh Lewis who came second in the last year’s competition weighed in a total of about 95lbs of fish, showing that he was going to be one of the main contenders.
Local spearo and defending champion Richard Parkinson reached the scale and weighed an impressive total of 125lbs of fish, the largest being a 28lb Barracuda .
Last years champion Richard Parkinson.
Hometown hero Othneil Ramsay weighed in an amazing variety of seven different species of fish.
The Majority of fish caught in the competition were Cavalli’s, Snappers and Barracuda’s.
On the second day the weather conditions were the same with the north coast being the area of choice. The spearo’s hunted around the island’s of the sisters, the brothers and the Giles hoping to bring in the winning fish.
At the scale the crowd eagerly anticipated the arrival of the divers.
The local favorite Wilbert Paul brought in a beautiful 21lb yellow tail Cavalli.
Scott Tucker shot the largest Snapper of the competition which was a 12lb teardrop Snapper.
Scott Tucker with his 12lb Tear Drop Snapper.
The tournament leader, Richard Parkinson came to the scale with 80lbs of fish which included two nice size Snappers and 3 Horse eye Cavalli’s, the largest being 16lbs and a 25lb Barracuda.
But it was Josh Lewis who came to avenge defeat from last year. He weighed in 8 large Horse eye Cavalli’s and a big yellow mouth Grouper.
At the prize giving the new challenge champion was Josh Lewis with 246.0 points and won Riffe Evro 12ox plus a Darryl Wong Reel, Richard Parkinson was 2nd with 223.8 points and won a pair of diveR fins. Christian Reece was third with 127.3 points and won a Riffe 2ATM float.
Local Spearo with his Cavalli.
In the heaviest fish category it was Christian Reece’s Monster 48lb Barracuda which took first place and he won a Suunto D4 dive watch. The second largest fish was Richard Parkinson’s 28 lb Barracuda and he won a Sporasub wetsuit for it. Third largest was the 22lb Dolphin that Curtis De Silva shot and he won a 140qt Yeti cooler.
The junior category was also won by Curtis de Silva and he won a JBL speargun, a Trophy and a subscription to International Freediving and spearfishing News.
After the prizegiving there was Fish broth for everyone which was well appreciated and some cold beers to wash it down with. Everyone who had partaken in the competition vowed to come back next year.
