Dave Hochman’s 68.4-pound bass, shot on a reef in Block Island Sound.

Photo courtesy of Dave Hochman

Written by TOM MEADE

Dave Hochman set a world spearfishing record on Independence Day, when he shot a 68.4-pound striped bass on a reef in Block Island Sound. The fish was 55 inches long with a 32.5-inch girth. The diver was in 54 feet of water.

Hochman has been diving on that reef for years, he said, because it holds big bass.

“I know the bottom there better than the charts know the bottom,” he says.

Hochman is a chiropractor who lives in Oxford, Conn. He has shot several bass weighing 58 pounds, his previous personal record.

When he is lining up a shot, Hochman can lower his pulse to 32 beats a minute.

“It’s like yoga,” he says. “It’s the most peaceful feeling when you’re in that state of mind. You’re in a state that is not normal on land.”

He describes the sensation as being similar to the moment just before one falls asleep. He says, “It’s a tranquil feeling.”

Hochman has been breath-hold diving since he was 8. Now 42, he stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 220 pounds. He trains year-around — in the water during the warmer months and doing ultra-cardio workouts during the colder months. He also practices “air packing,” a breathing technique that suppresses the urge to breathe. On land, Hochman has held his breath for as long as six minutes.

He was a member of the team that won the 2004 U.S. national championship, and is a four-time North Atlantic champion. (He is scheduled to join Jay Moore and John Murphy on a team to compete in the U.S. National Freediving Spearfishing Championship, ( http://www.ecotonesinc.com/08Nationals/08nationals.htm), Aug, 7 at King’s Beach, in Newport.)

On July 4, Hochman had made 50 to 60 dives on his secret reef.

He describes the area:

“The reef has a high peak of about 18 feet and it drops down to a 35-foot plateau that’s about 40 yards long. At the end of that plateau is a ridge of boulders — big boulders, the size of a truck – and on the back side of those boulders, it falls off to about 65 feet.

“It’s the perfect bottom for bass because they can stage up in the 35-foot area or the deeper area, depending on the current and where they can find a lee.”

Hochman saw a lot of scup, big bluefish, and several large bass including at least two 50-pounders.

He was on the 35-foot plateau, with a trophy fish in front of him. In his tranquil state of mind, Hochman was squeezing his trigger.

Suddenly, a spear flew in front of him and struck another, smaller fish that Hochman had been watching. Hochman’s trigger finger kept squeezing. The much larger fish, startled by the other spear, bolted just as Hochman’s spear left his gun. He shot under the shot.

Meanwhile, the striper that had been shot ripped across the reef, stripping line of his buddy’s reel.

“It was coming right at my head,” Hochman recalls, “so I lay flat on the bottom, literally with my face on the bottom. As it came by, the thing snapped my snorkel. Fortunately, it didn’t rip off my mask. I froze up. I needed air but I didn’t want to get hung up in the line. I wait. I wait. I look up, and it’s clear so I go up for air.”

Ten dives later, Hochman descended to 54 feet.

“I was able to watch the whole thing unfold,” he says. “Commonly, you’re in boulders, and you’ve got current with debris and [pieces of] kelp flying around. Your windows are small. You do a lot of snap-shooting. You see a fish, you know that it’s 40 pounds or better, and you take the shot or you don’t.

“In this situation, I had fallen past the reef, but I knew where I was, and I wasn’t happy about it. I had wanted to be up the reef just a little bit. Turning into the current would have expended too much energy, though, so I laid there. Each dive is precious, so I stuck it out.

“About 50 seconds into the dive, I see a fish along the ridge. It’s about a 30-pounder. It comes by me, but I’m not interested. I look over his right shoulder, and I see something else coming toward me. I’m not sure what it is — commonly it’s a big piece of kelp.

“I’m looking at the thing, thinking, ‘This has got to be a piece of kelp. It’s so big.’

“My gun was in position, and it was getting closer, and closer, and closer.

“Now I can make its head out, and I’m thinking, ‘It can’t be as big as I think it is.’

“It gets 12 feet out, and it’s assessing the area. Five or eight feet off the bottom it’s moving very slowly …

“I’m in a position where he can’t make me.

“I’m dialed in. My heart rate is very low. I never move.

“I’ve got the gun pointed right at him, and he closes the gap to three feet off the tip.

“I take the shot, and, fortunately, it’s a perfect shot.”

Dave Hochman’s bass weighed 3.3 pounds more than the previous record — a 65.1-pound fish, shot last year by Dan O’Neil of East Providence.