RYAN BELWORTHY The Armed Snorkeler
I grew up like many kiwi kids spending many hours of my spare time chasing snapper and many other fish with rod and reel. One thing that always fascinated me was watching schools of bait fish hanging around the burley trail and work ups, I always wondered what was under there. Eventually I got the opportunity to hop in with a spear gun and I have never looked back.
I am currently based in the Waikato finishing off a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, but that doesn’t stop me making the most of our central location to get out to some of the best spearfishing spots New Zealand has to offer whether it be the Coromandel, Tauranga or the rough and rugged West Coast of Raglan there’s always an adventure to be had.
I have been spearfishing for about four years now but only in the last year have I really started giving it a full-fledged effort. I used to joke about going for an “Armed Snorkel” when I went spearfishing in case I didn’t catch anything hence the name “The Armed Snorkeler”.
I have a few goals for this year which include spearing my first kingie over 30kgs, spearing my first 20lb snapper and all going to plan having a crack at some of the game fish the west coast has to offer. This season has been huge for gamefish such as Marlin and even Mahi Mahi so without jinxing next season it’s safe to say I’ll be out there getting amongst it with support from the wonderful team at Splash Spearfishing New Zealand.
I really want to show you guys how much fun spearfishing is, I take spearfishing from the approach of your everyday kiwi, it’s all about having fun, enjoying our awesome shorelines that we are so lucky to have here in New Zealand and simply getting amongst it.
Make sure you head on over to my Facebook page (The Armed Snorkeler) and check out my Instagram. I will keep both up to date with my latest adventures and antics. I will also have an active youtube channel in the very near future so make sure you follow current social media so I can share my videos with you once it’s up.
Cheers,
Ryan
