I have been asked many times how my co-fishermen see me and every time I hear the question I always want to start laughing. There are so many images that come to mind. So many funny things that could not have been more properly placed in our trips, as if we actually planed them. I really cannot understand how every time I go fishing with a new buddy, everything goes perfectly (for me that is…). I probably have to thank God, even though my friends will probably start talking about that big guy with the beard and trident that lives in the sea. It’s truly a mystery…

How can I ever forget my first fishing trip with my buddy Kokkinakis from Kasteli of Crete. We got acquainted with Giannis through a spearfishing forum where I was impressed by the large Autumn Gilthead seabreams he constantly posted. So I had written to him, half serious – half joking, that when I go to Crete I will find him and go fishing together aiming at large gilthead seabreams. Time went by, the summer came and I found myself in Crete heading towards his part of the island.

Along with another friend and spearo from Chania, we were heading towards Giannis. Our first meeting was on the sea shore, along with the wetsuits, the spear guns and of course a large variety of stories. I will never forget his phrase as he was describing the configuration of the sea floor. “At this fishing spot you can come across anything, from large dusky and golden groupers to gigantic amberjacks. The only thing impossible to meet this time of year is a gilthead seabream. I’m telling you this so you won’t have your hopes up.”
We entered the water and staying relatively close to each other (the fishing spot was not so big) we began our aspetto’s. The configuration of the sea floor was very nice but the fish were absent… At some point, as I’m leaving my hiding place, a fish will approach and stop right beneath me. It was a large gilthead seabream! I couldn’t believe my eyes. The fish was standing completely still between some rocks, over a sandy patch of the sea floor. As I was watching from the surface, I thought it was too good to be true and that when I will try to move towards it, it will disappear. I began my descent with my heart beating like a drum, aimed at the fish and took a vertical shot that send the shaft… right beside the big fish and into the sand. The funny thing is that the fish continued to stand completely still! I was in SHOK!
Not knowing what to do, I slowly and gently collected the shaft from the sand taking great care in not scaring the fish off!
I hastily reach the surface and I honestly don’t remember how much time it took me to reload and dive again. What I can remember is the fact that I didn’t collect the line of the shaft properly… This time I didn’t risk a vertical shot, so I leveled with the fish and my shot immobilized the poor gilthead by breaking its spine. An unbelievable scene! Surfacing and almost before taking my first breaths, I had already called the boys that were fishing nearby.

I cannot describe what Giannis glance looked like when he saw the fish. The only thing he managed to ask was “where did you find it??” Of course at the time I didn’t explain how lucky I was and how easily it had decided to give itself to me… So I began teasing him, something that continues up to today! I honestly believe that the specific fish came my way that day to give me the opportunity to tease Kokkinakis! His trials of course don’t end here, since a few days later, after our first fishing trip, we were again swimming together and as we were side by side, a school of small amberjacks approached. Shooting one fish, I opened my reel and started to yell at Giannis who hadn’t seen the fish (!) The school left without a second victim and a second round of teasing began. My good friend Kokkinakis, how many things will you still endure… His glance never changed, not even when we were eating the fish we caught some days after, where we also consumed the gilthead seabream. If I remember correctly, he never touched any of the fish, only eating some salad and wining all through the night…

And it’s not only Giannis. In Crete again, the next summer with my friend Kostas and our fishing trip with Tasos and Giannis at an unknown fishing spot is a fact. The three men go towards a deep headland and I slowly head towards shallower waters. About two hours later, I have managed a couple of nice and relatively “easy” dusky groupers and I’m heading towards the others who are on the shore trying to get warm after so many deep dives.

-    Hey, what are you doing here?
-    We got cold and decided to stay here for a bit, we also didn’t shoot anything.
-    That’s ok, because I did!
-    ………………………

Some days after of course, Tasos and Kostas managed a large dusky grouper while I came to the boat almost empty, so it was their turn to tease me… hmm, boys…
So let’s get back to our question. How do the boys see me when we are fishing? I know my friends are glad. They may even gloat. Furthermore, if you exclude the fish, I’m almost worthless. Thank god for my friends who always take care of me. My fish is caved up, my shaft is stuck, I’m cold, I’m hungry, my belly aches and I think I should probably stop now since I constantly ask for their help…
As for the others, I simply don’t care. All these years that I am fishing I happened to have      – luckily only a few times – diving buddies that were truly awful and that not because they were not good divers or spearo’s, but because they were frustrated and competitive towards their friends and even me. I feel very lucky that I can share this great journey called spearfishing with special people, with whom I have nothing to prove, only share experiences and laughs.

Every fish caught by the group is celebrated as it deserves. If someone catches fish and the others don’t then nobody will leave with an empty icebox and usually during the week that follows, we gather and eat the fish together. As you can understand, competitive behavior simply doesn’t fit here, only smiles and badinage. Many of them…