I love Warsaw grouper just for the fact that they are usually really deep and out of the range of Freedivers. At the right time of year though they venture in shallow enough in a few places around the world to actually give us a chance to even see one.
If you’ve never seen one underwater they are different than any other grouper in that they are short and stocky and sometimes almost look purple or black underwater.
And did mention they get absolutely monstrous! This video from an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico shows a very big one eating a full size Amberjack like its a Snickers Bar.
I don’t think I’m up for diving 235 feet to get him so I can only pray that he comes up some day and gives me the chance.

Hogfish Bahamas Pole Spearing

The girls enjoying themselves as much as possible, always

As you’re flipping through pictures with friends showing them your last trip, I guarantee they stop you every time you pass one with a girl in a bathing suit on the boat.   That our sport has a knack for convincing good looking girls to come join us for a day on the water, in the sun, and enjoying the ocean is no secret but often overlooked is the number of talented Spearfisherman, that are women. I hate to use the word Spearfisherwoman as these women have made their mark on the ocean without the bravado and rough touch that so many of us share when slugging it out below the surface with our adversaries.

What they lack in strength, the women that dive more than make up for in finesse and tact and tend to be more patient and disarming both on land and in the ocean so that not only fish but also googled eyed men fall prey to their allure.

From Russia to Australia, Brazil to Florida and everywhere in between, whether it be in a wetsuit or bikini they will always turn heads and make us wish we were on the same boat with them.

Over the life of Spearblog we will build a list of the most sought after women in the diving world.  Some will be daughters, sisters, wives and mothers and remember you aren’t the only one who wants to have them on your boat, so play nice and remember these girls have guns and know how to use them.

We will start it off with Maureen,  who has made more enviable catches and looked better doing it than any guy you’ve ever had on the boat.

you can thank me later…

Warsaw Grouper East Coast Florida

1. (Cameron) How did you get into Spearfishing?

(Maureen) I  became a fellow Speara with the inspiration of my mother, Charlene.  It’s our lifestyle Iguess. I think I was getting tired of her killing bigger fish than me.  Even as a little girl I recall flipping through her dive pictures.   I think I was hooked on dry land. And of course watching all the guys on the boats bringing up fish is a drive on it’s own!

Like Mother Like Daughter. Charlene and Maureen setting the bar high

2.  Whats your favorite place to dive?

My all time favorite place to dive would be the Bahamas.  Bikini and a Hawaiian sling, leave the tanks and excess at home.  Dawn till dusk .Gorgeous crystal clear water and plentiful nice fish.  And of coarse conch, the weakness to my heart.  Walkers Cay is the bomb.

Also the deep ledge in Jupiter. Around 115 on top and around 130 on the floor. You never know what you are going to see such as the schools of king fish, beautiful bait balls, groups of seasonally spawning Goliaths congregating at the hole in the wall, lots hefty bull sharks that carry Cobia, and your normal jacks, hogs, snapper and grouper.

3. What is it about spearfishing that keeps you coming back?  Always jonesing to  kill bigger fish.  You never know what may be lurking down the ledge.  It’s a sick addiction. I don’t want to miss out!

4. Any suggestions for a girl interested in getting into it?

Spearguns are hot, every girl should own one. Plus we usually breath less air and can stay down longer with tanks. Invest in nothing bigger than 100 steel tanks cause you will kill your back carrying them.  You have only seen half the world if you only explore the top layer.

5. After your Warsaw Grouper this year how many marriage proposals did you get from jealous Spearfisherman?

haha.. not enough! (hint this means try harder guys, she is still out shooting you)

6.  Crew?  (who you go out with the most or enjoy going out with).

My bad ass mother, Charlene, Emerald Charters with Captain Tony.

7. Gear that no woman can live without on a boat?

I feel naked in the water without a speargun in hand, however ,I couldn’t live without the hair brush, scrunchies and a hoodie.  Without, I’d have dreadlocks.  I have seen some chicks with horror stories after diving and having to cut a lot of it off. No bueno.

8. Bathing suit or… under your Wetsuit?

Yes, I live in bikinis. Some girls have a shoe fetish, while i a bikini in every color and print.

9.  Dream dive?  If you could dive anywhere in the world where would you go and what do you want to hunt?  I would and WILL eventually get more into the pelagic aspect of spearing. I could literally kill for one of those monster tuna. In my dreams right? I have seen a couple wahoo, but never managed to get close enough.  I would love to go anywhere that has less diver traffic as well.

10.  Best day on the water? One off my all time favorites was with a bunch of whalesharks in Isla Mujeres Mexico.  We got to hold on to there dorsal fins and take a ride pretty wicked!

11. Tell us a bit about your business plan and how you worked your way into one of the most envious careers in our sport.  On the water every day, in a bathing suit, having fun with the girls and getting paid to cruise the world and dive on some of the nicest yachts in the world?

Haha trust me work is work..  Can’t say it is as attractive as that but the job definitely has its perks!… I help deliver boats up and down the coast and take trips as a mate. I also get into the nitty gritty aspect of maintaining and detailing them as well.

12. And the question everyone is wondering, who is the luckiest SpearfisherMAN in the world? Haha, I’m still Single!  ; )

Boat drinks

Cobia

Hogfish

Best day on the water ever? Everyday you have these two on board

Who are the women you have been diving with your whole life?   It’s time women had their place on Spearblog and in the world of Spearfishing.    If you want to see more, send your pics ladies to blueh2oboy@yahoo.com.  Guys, I know you have wives, girlfriends, daughters and friends who look better in a bathing suit than you and have tried spearfishing, we need their representation here to inspire the next generation of women divers and to brighten the future of our sport.

Thanks for the interview Maureen, I know we will be seeing more of you in the water and in the Magazines.  Check out Spearing Magazine this month for more pics of Maureen and great articles on Spearfishing around the world.

Without the fin up that distinguishes a Warsaw it looks like any other grouper

Fresh off the trip to Micronesia I was straight back into job hunting trying to find a ship job amidst all this foolishness with the American Ship Captain being held hostage on his own lifeboat off the coast of Somalia.

Having just returned from the same area and not seeing any action taken by the US in a few days was less than encouraging and I have no desire to go back to that area of the world.

Got a line on a good job opportunity through a company in Texas and flew out there to interview.

Within the first thirty minutes of the 2 day interview process they told me I was there man and now, (despite having my unlimited tonnage Captains license for that past 4 years) and officially Captain Cameron Kirkconnell and will be in command of a 600 ft ship that operates off the coast of South America.  I am beside myself excited about it as the job is a good one and I’ve been working hard to find something good in our crumbling Merchant Marine fleet.

Job in hand I got on the phone and started hustling for  a dive trip.

Luckily Keith Love (Texas Bluewater Assassins) and Jeff from Maximum Scuba took pity on me and we met up early the next morning to head offshore into solid 4-6 ft seas.  

I could have cared less and was happy just to be on the water and celebrate.   With hopes of making it way out we were resigned to stay in shallow and swarmed by dozens of Red Snappers who luckily for them are still out of season.  

Keith Love with a bigger Warsaw from the depths

Keith had said the chance for a Warsaw was good and I did my best to relax in the heaving seas and bit of current to make some deep dives. 

After 15 dives to 75 ft or more I self proclaimed myself as the Snapper Whisperer as the entire school would meet me at 30 feet and follow me down to the lower parts of the rig like lost puppies.  Every movement I made was under close scrutiny and I wish I had a camera to record the 25 lb snapper literally 2 feet from the front of my mask and some smaller ones close enough to touch.  

It was painful but amazing and I learned a lot about Red Snapper’s habits and what movements and other tricks kept them coming in and pretty much committing suicide.   

Off to the next rig Jeff and Keith gave me a good hour in the water to try again before they headed down on Scuba and I started the process of diving to depth at all of the most productive spots of the rig.  (Incidentally this was a rig that I had dove 4 years prior and remembered the structure and irregularities that hold fish having seen it in clear blue water)

After working the entire rig with nothing but a small Permit to show for it I made a dive out wide in hopes of shooting a big cobia or Mackerel that would be circling.  Resting in the hazy green void at 70 ft I waited and was surrounded by my loyal Snappers and Blue Runners as usual.  

Looking down into the darkness towards the end of the dive I could barely make out the shape of something else that was strangely still and out of place from the swirling cauldron of Red and Blue surrounding me.   

I coasted down and my hopes soared as the form took the shape of a decent sized Grouper and I pulled the trigger of my Riffe 130 Euro hitting him squarely in the top of the head.  

Ready for a war I was let down that the fish simply rolled over and I pulled him easily to the surface and rejoiced in my first Warsaw Grouper while Freediving.  

The feat of shooting them is nothing extraordinary. It is finding them that is the difficult part as this species spends the majority of its time at depths of 500 ft and greater.   As far as we can tell in North America only a handful of these fish have been shot freediving and most have been flukes.  We have been targeting them for a few years in Louisiana without success and on the East Coast of Florida as well and while chances are good we will get one eventually I have to give most credit to Keith for putting me on them and giving me the opportunity to dive first before they went down on tanks.

GEAR:

Riffe Euro 130′s with Horizontal Reel for all three guys rigged with 9/32″ hawaiian flopper shafts.

3mm Green Cryptic Suit (Green winter water and water temp 69 degrees), Riffe Stable snorkel for the rough seas to keep it clear of water,  Amber lens Naida mask for the crappy visibility to pic out the details and brighten up the overcast day.

NOTE:

As far as I know the only people to shoot Warsaws freediving: Jason Wentmore’s buddy off the East coast in 30′ of water!   Chad Palan in South Florida.  Keith Love’s friend in Texas and unconfirmed reports in Brazil. That is a pretty small group.

Physical description:

The warsaw grouper is the only member of the genus Epinephelous that has 10 dorsal spines, the second of which is much longer than the third. The color is a grayish brown to dark reddish-brown background with numerous small, irregular white blotches on the sides. The color appears much lighter around the nape and along the posterior margin of the operculum. All of the fins are dark brown, except the white-splotched spiny portion of the dorsal fin.

Biological description:

The warsaw grouper has a wider distribution along the southern United States than the other large grouper, the goliath grouper ( E. itajara). Warsaw range from North Carolina to the Florida Keys and throughout much of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to the northern coast of South America. The species inhabits irregular bottom, notches, valleys, and drop-offs, occuring in the continental shelf break in waters 350 to 650 feet deep. Other species inhabiting this productive deep-water zone are snowy and yellowedge groupers, tilefish, and silk snappers. Warsaw are long-lived, reaching up to 6 feet and over 300 pounds. The warsaw’s huge mouth enables it to engulf prey whole after capturing it.