Spearfishing with Barry Paxman

Spearfishing legend Barry Paxman

Australia has long been considered one of the primary pioneering blue water hunting destinations. The Paxman family is one of those early pioneering spearfishing families whose legacy continues today through the living legend of Barry Paxman. The internet streams images of Barry with massive fish in his iconic indo-mask and grey beard. Barry started spearfishing at an early age, right at the dawn of modern day spearfishing. His father Frank Paxman was one of the early pioneers in Western Australia. Even his mother Jackie was a fine spearfisherman getting her fair share of good fish. So Barry grew up in a spearfishing family and from an early age learn t the art of getting big fish. It wasn’t long before Barry and some friends started looking for some big blue water species. Barry became a master at getting blue water trophy fish and in 2001 Barry broke the world record for Spanish Mackerel, becoming the envy of spearfishermen worldwide. Barry’s kids all dive and over the years have become formidable spearfishermen. They’ve grown up to be true Paxmans, shooting massive fish that most divers only dream of. To this day Barry still gets amazing fish, often leaving younger spearfishermen scratching their heads, but Barry’s always keen to show the guys the ropes and mentor some of the younger crew. One of these guys is actually Welsh who’s been following Barry around with a camera, documenting some of the insane spearfishing off the Western coast of Australia.