by Shrek | Apr 5, 2020 | Noob Spearo Podcast
Interview with Rochele Davey (Potter)
Rochele Davey (Potter) is a multiple spearfishing world (and NZ) record holder for many species. I was privileged to spend 4 days with her, Nat (her husband), Rosie and James for a dynamite spearfishing trip in New Zealand. Late on the second day after diving all day, I sat down with Rochele and had the privilege of listening to her spearfishing journey. From adapting a purchase system on roller spearguns to being dragged behind a 107lb Yellowtail Kingfish through a dangerous channel, this interview has plenty of awesome moments! Listen in:)
This episode was recorded on the back deck of Florence Nightingale IV, a 60 Crayfishing Boat at the Three Kings Islands, New Zealand in early March, 2020. Thanks to Patron Listeners who funded this (and every) Noob Spearo trip!
Download and listen to this podcast!
Important Times
05:00 Rochele Davey nee Potter introduction and greetings
11:40 A few of Rochele’s Spearfishing World Records. The story behind the 48.8KG (107 lb) Yellowtail Kingfish Battle
17:50 How the spearfishing journey began for Rochele
23:25 Beuchat Spearfishing Wetsuits | Orange Safety Spot feature
26:00 Rochele’s favourite species to hunt and how to hunt them effectively | New Zealand Snapper (Pagrus auratus)
30:00 Scariest Moments in the Ocean
36:15 Struggles learning to spearfish
- Planning a hunt from the surface
- Adopting a hunters finning technique
- Working through speargun reloading and adopting a roller with a purchase system
49:45 Rochele’s Underwater Photography Journey
56:30 “Don’t feel you have to shoot the fish in the head. Just shoot it!”
Links Mentioned
Noob Spearo Partners + Promotions
by Shrek | Apr 5, 2020 | Noob Spearo Podcast
Spearfishing Conservation with James, David , Etoile ‘ET’ and Blair | Conservation, Social Media & Sharks
This episode is an extremely wide ranging chat recorded on Blair Herbert’s Matakana porch. It was awesome to arrive in New Zealand and partake of Blair’s awesome hospitality and record this first interview at his place. The conversation focuses on Spearfishing Conservation and related topics but we digress…..a lot.
Blair is an avid spearo with a background is Fisheries Management. David Dupavillon is an experienced spearfishing guide and Splash Spearfishing Team Member. ET is knowledgeable and well researched in many facets of the worlds oceans and it’s inhabitants. She is currently completing a degree in Marine Biology and is a shark conservationist. James Beckman was my travel buddy and he’s also been a past guest on the show (listen here to learn more about him). Everyone loves spearfishing:)
I really enjoyed this chat and my entire trip to New Zealand in early March, 2020. Thank you to the PATRON listeners who made it happen!
Download and listen to this podcast!
Important Times
05:25 Introductions and background information
19:44 About New Zealand Spearfishing. Species, Biomass and Variety
25:00 Kina aka Sea Urchin | Pest or Delicacy?
30:17 Social Media and Spearfishing | Are we converting people to a better way of life?
38:38 Great fisheries initiatives | Melbourne Crayfish Tagging
47:30 Exploitation of people as slave labour on International Fishing Vessels
52:30 Sharks and Fishing | Why can’t we hunt them?
62:30 Fisheries Management | How could it be done better?
76:40 The Wholefish Cookbook by Josh Niland
96:20 Words of Wisdom
Links Mentioned
Noob Spearo Partners + Promotions
by Shrek | Mar 28, 2020 | Noob Spearo Podcast
Interview with Barret Harvey | African Spearfishing Diaries
This interview with Barret Harvey starts off with the background behind several recent videos on the ‘African Spearfishing Diaries’ YouTube Channel. I was curious as I had seen the 2-3 of his latest videos and they are froth-makers. He has continued to pump out a new 8-12 minute spearfishing vid every week. We also chat about locations and species with plenty of practical tips and ideas along the way. At the 59 minute mark we get right into the skillset required to become a spearfishing videographer. Listen in and subscribe.
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A Bit About Barret Harvey
Barret Harvey is a South African spearo probably best well know as the creator of African Spearfishing Diaries. He started Spearfishing at 15 years of age when he moved from Johannesburg to Durban on the east coast of South Africa. He has been spearing for 29 years. Barret first filmed himself and others spearing when he was 21. So he has been filming Spearfishing for around 25 years. He’s married and now lives and dives in Qatar in the Middle East. He works on a live broadcast team as the specialist Drone pilot but works on both drone and camera for most sports.
Important Moments
04:18 Barret Harvey Introduction
07:00 All About African Spearfishing Diaries
12:00 Spearfishing French Polynesia
37:00 Favorite Spearfishing Hunting Technique
41:30 Shot placement discusion
47:50 What has been your toughest moment in the water?
Barret Harvey with IIfafa Point Daga 38Kg
59:00 How to Make a Living as a Spearfishing Photographer
- Diving Competence
- Camera Equipment and Application within the Spearfishing environment.
- Production Skills
- Customer Skills and Safety | Building Trust
- Defining Roles
- Working with Professional Guides
- Ultimate Goals and Longevity
- Passion and Belief
Equipment Bag
98:00 Funniest Moment out Spearfishing
103:00 What’s in your Divebag?
105:00 Spearo Q&A
Connect With Barret Harvey African Spearfishing Diaries
Noob Spearo Partners + Promotions
by Steven Domokos | Mar 21, 2020 | Noob Spearo Podcast
This episode covers Ricardo’s spearfishing experience from soup to nuts. Ranging from his Father teaching him some original spearo concepts to tossing his children a mask and snorkel, you’ll have to listen to learn about everything in-between!
Big thanks to Ricardo for sharing his spearfishing experience with the NS community!
Important Moments
05:00 Introduction
Rio De Janeiro, and what being a spear there implicates. His father is a prominent figure in his early spearfishing experiences! Ricardo has been spearing since about 10 years old! He’s currently passing on the talent to his daughter starting with a snorkeling trip to Mexico in Playa Del Carmen! If we could all be so lucky to have a Pops like that!
10:00 Early struggles spearfishing
- Learning hunting techniques – practice, trial, and error
- Diving in an informed location – marine conservation in Brazil is relatively new
- Learned early on to look for groups of spearos – a tip from Noob Spearo!
- Learning how to hunt Parrotfish!
- Learning how to deal with sharks…!
26:00 Memorable catches
The fish I’m most proud of, a hunt in Indonesia, staying at a Surf Resort. Giant Trevally, no reel, no buoy, the fish was pulling me down. It was an absolutely epic fight! Ricardo also enjoys hunting (and eating) Grouper; they’re a big target species in Brazil.
35:00 Veterans Vault: The Importance of Being Safe
- “I never knew about the risks involved when I started, but listening to other spearos and spearo communities has really informed me about how unsafe my diving actually was.”
- Keeping the snorkel out of mouth during dives
- Tips
- Concentration and rest – “When it’s too easy, it’s time to stop”
- Meditate/relax prior to, and during dives. Lower your heart rate.
- Proper knife positioning is important – you never know when you’ll have difficulty accessing your tools during a dive
- Always dive with safety-conscious buddies! Even though we always know we are supposed to do so, we often slip into bad habits
- Pay attention to your bottom times, and always, *always* exercise proper top time
- Sustainability – a proper code of ethics is always a good idea. Look after your environment, pick up after yourself, and above all be a good steward of wildlife and natural resources
- Be selective about hunting, follow your instincts and only shoot what’s legal and proper
- Use the whole fish (Whole fish cookbook made by some blokes in AUS)
52:00 Equipment Bag
New Hammerhead Mask w/GoPro mount on the top. Had some issues initially, but I finally got it working properly. Composite OMER fins, generic dive knives, and recently got a new gun. RIFFE travel gun that deconstruct with a threaded shaft that also comes apart.
57:00 Connecting with Ricardo
Find me on Instagram!
Noob Spearo Partners + Promotions
- 28-day Freediving Transformation – Want to increase your bottom time? Want to lower your comfortable operating depth? Want to increase your breath hold? In 4 weeks, you can transform your physiology to improve your performance as a free diver. Additionally, learn the proven strategies competitive free divers use to strengthen their performance.
- Equalization Masterclass – If you are free diver who struggles to equalize your ears in the 15-30 ft range this course is the answer. 14 videos discuss every equalizing problem and coach you through the difficulty. Say goodbye to Valsalva and hello to Frenzel and make equalizing easy.
- Tuesday Ted Talks Freediving – 19 one-hour live Instagram episodes where I discuss a variety of freediving topics and answer peoples question live on Instagram.
- Free online courses – How to take a 20-30% bigger breath and how to make the mammalian dive reflex work for you. www.FreedivingSafety.com – Free online safety resource.
- View all of Ted’s online freediving classes @ www.onlineclasses.ImmersionFreediving.com
by Shrek | Mar 8, 2020 | Noob Spearo Podcast
Interview with Catherine Sayce
Catherine Sayce is a Kiwi airline attendant/insta speara star renown for her sharp sense of humour and self-deprecating wit. She’s also New Zealand most disqualified female spearo – and we talk about how to avoid this in the Veterans Vault and have some good laughs along the way. Listen out for some great info on hunting Wahoo. Download this episode on your app of choice and find 116 similar episodes right here.
Links Mentioned in this Episode
Catherine Sayce Spearfisherwoman Interview Guide + time stamps
08:00 Catherine meet and greet. Background and banter
11:30 Introduction to spearfishing. “Grabbing my fear by the balls” – Catherine Sayce
Making the best of it – Catherine Sayce
15:00 Awesome dive buddies
15:40 International spearfishing trips | Forrest Gallante
24:00 Most Memorable Fish Capture | Wahoo – get closer!
“(With Wahoo) Don’t make eye contact with the fish but check out all the detail in the fish’s eye (to make sure you are close enough to shoot)” – Catherine Sayce
Catherine Sayce Wahoo
32:00 “What does THOT mean?” Duncan Henderson
34:20 What is the toughest situation you’ve had out spearfishing?
44:00 Veterans Vault: Avoiding Disqualification in Spearfishing Competitions
- Paying attention at briefing
- Monitoring times (particularly time back at ramp, time at briefing)
- Time management (wear a dive watch)
- Read the competition rules
51:00 Fish Identification | Learning the species, the rules and regulations governing their capture. Also how to identify in water and spend the time to correctly identify the fish before squeezing the trigger
55:00 Shark Controversy Discussion
62:00 Funniest Moment Spearfishing | Poo Rock and Prizes
65:00 What’s in your spearfishing dive bag?
68:00 Spearo Q&A
- Who have been the most influential people in your spearfishing?
- What is your next fish goal?
72:00 Concluding remarks and wisdom:)
Catherine Sayce with New Zealand Snapper (Pagrus auratus)
Noob Spearo Partners + Promotions
EVERY Online Immersion (Ted Harty) class available at www.noobspearo.com/ted
- 28-day Freediving Transformation – Want to increase your bottom time? Want to lower your comfortable operating depth? Want to increase your breath hold? In 4 weeks, you can transform your physiology to improve your performance as a free diver. Additionally, learn the proven strategies competitive free divers use to strengthen their performance.
- Equalization Masterclass – If you are free diver who struggles to equalize your ears in the 15-30 ft range this course is the answer. 14 videos discuss every equalizing problem and coach you through the difficulty. Say goodbye to Valsalva and hello to Frenzel and make equalizing easy.
- Tuesday Ted Talks Freediving – 19 one-hour live Instagram episodes where I discuss a variety of freediving topics and answer peoples question live on Instagram.
- Free online courses – How to take a 20-30% bigger breath and how to make the mammalian dive reflex work for you. www.FreedivingSafety.com – Free online safety resource.
- View all of Ted’s online freediving classes @ www.onlineclasses.ImmersionFreediving.com
by Shrek | Feb 19, 2020 | Noob Spearo Podcast
Interview with Adam Freediver Stern
Adam Freediver Stern is the Steve Irwin of freediving. His contagious enthusiasm has inspired thousands of people to discover the joy of freediving and freedive spearfishing. It was with much excitement that I got on this call with Adam and we had a great time exploring his freediving journey including his struggles overcoming the ‘hard charger’ mindset and dealing with the resulting issues. We also get into a heap of questions from the Noob Spearo Community and really get into equalizing issues. There is a tonne of info in the interview that smashed some of my ideas and I found this conversation sensational. Love to hear what you think about it in the comments!
Adam Stern lives on the Central Coast, NSW and is an Australian 8 x Australian freediving record holder.
Download this episode on your Podcast app here!
Time Stamps
5:00 Welcome Adam to the show
9:00 What is the difference is between freediving and spearfishing?
11:00 Adam’s non-romantic but quite intriguing introduction to freediving
18:00 Adam Freediver Stern age:31
19:00 Overcoming the ‘Gung Ho’ and reprogramming the mind
30:00 Kurt “Can you give us a rundown on what the various freediving course levels are?”
37:30 Sven “How can we level out properly when at depth without causing issues of lung squeeze etc (leveling out at depth goes against everything we are taught to do for deeper dives)?”
39:30 Jason “Fantastic, I love Adam’s positivity and mindset. Maybe any questions regarding tips on how he enters a state of calmness during a dive to increase bottom time. I feel like I get caught up in the moment sometimes and get too erratic.”
43:00 Discussion about Deepweek and what I think about it
45:40 Todd “Adam stern was and still is huge inspiration for it just myself, but everyone in our dive group SinkPhase. We all started out watching his YouTube videos and that’s how I learned to Frenzle. Some of us are part of his Patreon. Please thank him on our behalf of us. The dive group was talking about breathe ups we learned while getting certified. We all had a slightly different breathe up. I started with a 4/1/8/1 but went to a 3/1/10/1 after my course. What breathe up does he personally think works best? We are spearing if that changes it.”
52:50 Cameron “I suppose this is a pretty common question but would be interesting to hear Adams opinion: What can a beginner do to see the most improvement in their breath hold?”
56:40 Kyle “How can duck dive effectively with a gun in hand?”
58:00 Adams spearfishing life
73:00 Veterans Vault: Equalizing Masterclass
The Basics. What is equalizing and why do we need to do it?
- How to frenzal VIDEO GUIDE by Adam
- Handsfree equalizing VIDEO tutorial
- How to fix sinus issues VIDEO guide
- Fixing equalizing issues VIDEO guide
- MRI equalizing VIDEO
- Most common equalizing issues and how to approach them.
- What to do when one ear equalizes but one doesn’t.
- Luke asks “I’ve been struggling with Sinus infection past few months. What is the best way to recover from Sinus / cold symptoms to get back out diving?”
- Kelly “Hands free equalization. I got his course. I just can’t do it 😩”
- How do you clean your ears?
- How do you keep your ears ok for multi-day diving?
“Be patient with equalizing as you are trying to do something really weird with your muscles to do a really weird activity.” – Adam Stern
98:00 What is one of the funniest things you’ve experienced out spearfishing or freediving?
102:00 Spearo Q&A
What does the spearfishing experience mean to you in one sentence?
Who has been the most influential person in your freediving journey so far?
What is the single best resource for spearfishing or freediving?
Connect with Adam Freediver Stern;
Noob Spearo Partners + Promotions
EVERY Online Immersion (Ted Harty) class available at www.noobspearo.com/ted
- 28-day Freediving Transformation – Want to increase your bottom time? Want to lower your comfortable operating depth? Want to increase your breath hold? In 4 weeks, you can transform your physiology to improve your performance as a free diver. Additionally, learn the proven strategies competitive free divers use to strengthen their performance.
- Equalization Masterclass – If you are free diver who struggles to equalize your ears in the 15-30 ft range this course is the answer. 14 videos discuss every equalizing problem and coach you through the difficulty. Say goodbye to Valsalva and hello to Frenzel and make equalizing easy.
- Tuesday Ted Talks Freediving – 19 one-hour live Instagram episodes where I discuss a variety of freediving topics and answer peoples question live on Instagram.
- Free online courses – How to take a 20-30% bigger breath and how to make the mammalian dive reflex work for you. www.FreedivingSafety.com – Free online safety resource.
- View all of Ted’s online freediving classes @ www.onlineclasses.ImmersionFreediving.com
