“I think she sees something! Start your watch!” I shout down to Hilary. From my captain’s chair up top I have the best vantage point into the water. Even though we got lucky with very clean water, especially in May when the dirty Mississippi River is pushing out into the Gulf, I can’t see Kimi anymore. She’s too deep.

Kimi Werner is a badass spearfisher who has won championships for her catches. She hunts three minutes at a time, holding her breath under water in the open ocean, stalking her fish, spearing it, wrestling it, and landing it. Typically she’s doing this in her home waters of Maui and Oahu, but with us in Louisiana she’s hunting fish below an offshore rig, so it’s a little different for her out here.

It's different for me, too. I’m on the water about 200 days a year guiding my clients, but none of them jump overboard into open water to dive down and spear the fish species we target. Hilary Hutcheson and I are on the boat about 40 yards from Kimi. We watch her pop up a few times while she’s checking things out and getting oriented on the rig, seeing things almost no one gets to see. It must be like a playground down there for her. Her spotters are in the water with her making sure everything’s good, keeping an eye out for sharks; meanwhile Hilary and I are anxiously and excitedly checking the stopwatch. “1 minute, ten” Hilary calls out.

When you can’t see what’s happening down underwater, there’s a lot of anticipation up top. I notice I’m holding my breath…and also trying to breathe for her.

Suddenly, they’re on the surface. “It’s splashing, it’s splashing! I think she’s got something!” I shout. I’m commentating and giving everyone the play-by-play down on deck.

“She’s got a cobia!...it’s flapping her in the face!”

“She lost her mask!”

It’s all peaceful until she pulls that trigger – then everything becomes complete chaos. She’s got to make sure she’s safe while this fish is still alive with a spear in it, and sometimes it attracts sharks who also want her catch. It takes a lot of guts, if you ask me. We bring Kimi and her 40 lb. cobia up on the boat and all erupt in excitement, and she’s stoked too. The energy is so high.

“Going from a place of calm in the dark waters then hearing everyone cheering when I come up is so gratifying,” said Kimi after catching her breath. “On a normal day there’s definitely a sense of victory and a hunter’s instinct that is internally celebratory,” she continues, starting to free herself from her wetsuit. “But something about being this far off shore, in foreign waters, hunting something I’ve never seen before, and just wanting to make the girls proud…it’s a different feeling.”

It’s an awesome moment for all of us because we’re all so invested in it, and set us up with great energy to put Hilary on some fish.

We started planning this trip about a year ago when we were all in Austin for a YETI event with fellow ambassadors. Kimi, Hilary, and I were hanging around – I didn’t know either of them personally, but of course knew who they were. “We clicked pretty easily, it’s like finding friends rather than making them,” Kimi recalls.

We all read water but in different ways; I’m in the Gulf, Hilary’s reading rivers in Montana, and Kimi is below the water in Hawaii. But water is what draws all three of us together. “We all share a passion for adventure, outdoors, resourcefulness, and for being out there,” Kimi points out. “We’re three women each with our own set of skills – we’re different but compatible.” It didn’t take long for this plan to start brewing.

We’d initially talked about doing the trip together in Costa Rica or Panama, as time went on we realized we didn’t have to travel so far, we’re all capable guides and I have an amazing fishery in my backyard, which allows us to try to capture the same species in our different fishing styles. Plus, it’s important that Kimi feels confident while diving in unfamiliar waters, and I know these waters well.

Offshore Louisiana is known for yellowfin tuna and that’s what we’d planned on targeting, the idea being each of us would catch the same species in a different way. But after calls and talks about it, we decided, instead, to show off the variety of the fishery near Venice.

Having a free diver and fly angler on board means I’m setting up two very different ways to fish, with very different challenges to set them up. For both women, the weather and water conditions will have to be just right for me to be able to capitalize on their skills and make it happen. And this time of year the water’s typically not too clear – the mighty Mississippi pulling silt and debris down from the waterways of America. 

But it looks like the stars are aligning for us. The weather is just right and a loop current is running, bringing in clean, good water 30-plus miles off shore, allowing me to help us all make the most of it.

Hilary’s game is all on the surface of the water, so she’ll be sight-casting off my boat and I’ve got to get her lined up and keep her in the right spot. “Open water presents a host of different challenges for me,” explains Hilary as she’s setting up her reel, “but that’s also the biggest draw. When you’ve been doing your own pursuit for so long and you have your own thing dialed, you crave an added challenge.” Meanwhile I’m looking at the weather, the rigs, the waves, and getting us set up, and suddenly the fish are on the surface.

She’s in for a challenge, going for cobia on a fly rod. They’re good-sized fish and put up a fight. Hilary’s stripping streamers trying to get it to eat her baitfish pattern – teasing it. But she’s getting refusals; there’s a lot of chaos in the water, the chop is rough, and we’re right on top of the rig. Hilary’s working really hard, and I am too, just to keep the boat in position for her. I know she’s used to being on a moving surface but white water on the river and rolling swell in the ocean feel different. Plus, this is a big boat.

Finally she gets a good eat, and works even harder to reel him in. Kimi’s ready with the net, excitedly running around to the side of the boat. Well the fish is so huge it busts right through the net! I haven’t seen that happen in a long time. My husband, Eric, is ready with another net, and after Hilary reels the fish back in again, Kimi gets it netted. After a quick tag and a photo, the fish is released back into the gulf.

“The team work of landing that fish was really fun” says Hilary afterward. “Moe’s navigating and getting us set up, Kimi’s getting to do something she’s never done before, I’m working on getting this huge fish on board with everyone’s energy adding to the moment.” “We were all at the edge of our freaking seats!” adds Kimi, saying “the suspense of actually securing it was really exciting. It’s not just her fish, we’re all supporting each other and emotionally invested.”

This is just day one. Everyone has their fish, including me  –  and each one feeling like a team fish.

Back at the lodge, Kimi’s slicing cobia for sashimi and prepping the wahoo I caught for tacos. “I never get to eat fresh fish like this,” Hilary says, looking over Kimi’s shoulder while she filets her fish. “I love to eat it whenever I can, but I don’t order or buy ocean fish in Montana; it’s a giant expense and a huge carbon footprint. SO being able to go out in the morning and catch fish that you can eat as a family that night, it’s really impactful.” For both me and Kimi, preparing food and feeding people with our harvest is a big part of our lives; hearing Hilary’s remark makes it feel extra special.

This is such a cool experience because we’re all guides and pros, it’s important to stay challenged so we can better understand and know what drives each other, and learn about what’s important to our respective fisheries and ecosystems. It’s a good reminder to look beyond our own lens.

“I’m thinking next time we do this in my backyard,” says Hilary, reaching for the platter of fish tacos. “Moe, I’ll show you how to row a rapid, and Kimi, you can do some freshwater diving.” It’s not easy to get us all in the same place, but the wheels are turning.

Ambassador Moe Newman is a full-time captain, lodge owner, and guide on the Gulf Coast in Venice, Louisiana. She and her husband Eric Newman host a range of guests at their lodge Journey South Outfitters. While her life is largely spent on the water, she still finds time to get onto solid ground to hunt. Head to Journey South Outfitters to learn more about their inshore and offshore fishing trips.