Erin McGinty

Hometown: Manjimup, WA Australia

Where you live: Cairns, QLD Australia

How long have you been spearfishing:

I started SCUBA diving for crays on the south coast of WA in high school but it wasn't until I went to Uni in Townsville 10 years ago that I had my first crack at spearfishing. I started out coastal spearfishing around the Burdekin and spearing on the GBR. It wasn't until November 2018 that I discovered Bluewater spearfishing and fell in love. I shot my first Dogtooth Tuna on this trip off Broome, using a Bluewater gun for the first time. Luckily I was in the company of some good spearos, with Chaz setting me up with the gear and Tao talking me through how to hunt this species.  

Top 3 places you have spearfished:

The more the remote the location the more I enjoy the spearfishing.

South coast (WA) - Such a unique and remote place to dive, with only a handful of divers every spearfishing the area we go to. Massive cathedral limestone caves full of schools of Blue Grouper, Pink Snapper, Harlequin, Borefish, Break Sea Cod and Dhufish. This is where I first started diving and will always have a love for this place.  It can only be dived a handful of times a year due to the southern ocean swell and wind which adds to the excitement of getting to dive here.

Torres Strait (QLD) - I lived in the Torres Strait for 4 years and the highlights of spearfishing this area was spearing the largest shipwreck in QLD. I haven't heard of anyone else spearfishing this wreck as it is in a location that rarely has vis past 2m and the tide rips in this area. There are very few times in a year this wreck is accessible for spearfishing. Also, Ashmore Reef off the Torres Strait (Coral Sea) in 2018. Amazing visibility and fairly untouched reef. It was my first time seeing and shooting elusive reef species including, Mu, One Spot Sea perch, Buff Bream, Maori Sea Perch, Lyretail, Highfin and Coronation coral trout.

Scott Reef (Broome) - My first go at bluewater spearfishing and first time shooting a Dogtooth Tuna was here. Scott reef has it all...a large variety of bluewater species, elusive reef fish, stunning sand cays and surf. Such a memorable trip!

First fish:

A coral trout shot with my first gun, a 90cm airgun (my brother still uses it today). 

Top 3 fish landed:

37.7 kg Spanish Mackerel - seeing such a large impressive fish under water is exciting enough let alone landing it. I was shocked at the initial strength of this fish when I first shot it, it felt on par with shooting a similar sized dogtooth. Thankfully mackerel runs are short lived. 
35 kg Dogtooth Tuna - it’s my ultimate dream to shoot a large dogtooth. Although this is not a massive fish for this species, I was extremely excited just seeing this sized fish let alone landing it. 
1 m long Fingermark - this fish is memorable because of the remoteness and accessibility of the location I shot it in. I didn't realise the size of it until I had it in the boat.

What fish do you think about hunting the most: 

I definitely have doggy fever. The Dogtooth Tuna are such an impressive fish for many reasons and undoubtedly one of the most challenging to land. 

Top 3 dream fish not yet landed:

A large dogtooth would be the ultimate dream. Nothing gets me more psyched up than a dogtooth tuna spearing trip. A Yellowfin tuna or a large WA Dhufish would also be amazing. 

Biggest and/or most impressive fish/creature you have seen:

A 100kg Black Marlin. I was lucky enough to see 5 black Marlin within 2 months last year. Such an impressive fish. I have been in such awe every time I have seen one, I'm still on the fence about shooting them. Swimming with humpbacks with calves in the Kimberley was also amazing.

Best dive trip you have been on:

Too many to list, but here's two:
- Getting to dive at Ashmore Reef and camp on Dauar Island (near Mer) in the Torres Strait. It was such a privilege getting permission from the Mer traditional owners to camp on the most stunning island I have ever seen and to fish around their islands. This island is located only 30 mins by boat from the coral sea. The turtles were hatching every night on the island as the fireflies turned on the ambiance. It was my first time seeing so many different fish species on this trip. 
- Staying on Kwakea, a private island in Vanuatu with pristine beaches, 'real' cultural experiences, amazing food, stunning waterfalls, beachfront accommodation, a legend of a boat skipper and dogtooth tuna only 20 mins away.

Favourite Gun:

At the moment it's an Aimrite 125cm inverted roller....accurate with power and I can load it!

Scariest thing you’ve seen while diving:

A mate getting hit by a large bull shark with its mouth open as it sped straight up at him from the bottom. We were blue water diving and there hadn't even been any fish shot or berley put in the water.

Plans and goals for the coming year:

- Dive new locations (the remoter the better). A coral sea trip would be good,
- Complete my next level of freedive training,
- Say yes to more random diving trips that put me out of my comfort zone, 
- Dive with new, skilled spearos to learn new techniques and improve my diving skills.