Instagram story viewer> @there.she.ventures> Posts

Nancy Wendel

@there.she.ventures

829

followers

4128

following

My home is where my heart @gymg_eek is with our 4 🐈
Pilot, speara and all around adventurer!
2026 #1 Women's World Freshwater Spearfishing Champ

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

I am overwhelmed with gratitude to have found my soulmate, adventure partner and my forever love. You've been my rock and my support, always encouraging me to chase my dreams. I love the life we are building together ❣️

If you haven't met Rob @gymg_eek yet, let me introduce you. He's the kindest and most loving man I've ever met. He never fails to make me feel cared for and desired. I feel heard, seen, and understood. He is my ultimate coach, supporter and protector. He instinctively moves me away from traffic when we're walking along a path. He'd literally throw himself into the ocean to save me if he thought I was ever in trouble. He carries all my heavy bags not because he thinks I can't, but because he wants to help me carry my burdens. Hes always thinking of new ways to make me happy, and he doesn't ask for a thing in return. He loves me in a way that makes me realize everything has always led me to him. And he will tell everyone who will listen about me and any of my achievements, big or small. I've never had someone be so proud of me. It's a pretty special feeling when someone you love looks at you beaming with pride.
He has made me a romantic when I thought I was a realist. I've never been so sure of anything in my life that I am about wanting to spend my life with this man. ♥️ taken in Wekiwa Springs State Park by @there.she.ventures

39

9

2 years ago

1 year of prep! 4 days of scouting and 2 days of competition!! 🏆 Day 1 of the World Freshwater Spearfishing Championship at Lake Taupo had us in third place in Women's Pairs, but we fought back on Day 2 to take the win.

Thanks to @freedivespeara for our training program! And @spearavida for the advice, motivation and hardware!

Four days of intense scouting paid off - we were worried we'd struggle to find enough catfish, but once we adapted our eyes, the numbers were there. As Floridian divers used to hunting mobile fish, it took some getting used to spotting these sedentary fish. We learned to pick out their silhouettes. Learned to recognize what environment they like and how to scan to see them easier.

Our competitors were fierce – the top women's team set a Day 1 record for catfish caught! @elise.clynes also took home a massive kingfish when I went diving with her before the competition so I knew she would do really well.

Jess rocked her gun on Day 1 and I worked with a long pole spear. Thanks to @versaspear and @skeeprong for an amazing carbon fiber pole that was adaptable to 3 different sizes.

On day 2 when visibility dropped, we realized we needed to switch to a shorter pole. Day 2 was a grind – started slow, but once we read their behavior in the worsening conditions, we hit a rhythm: one every 5-10 mins.

Massive thanks to Jess for believing in me to be her buddy! Absolutely amazing to work with you in the water.

Thank you to my love Rob for supporting me throughout this journey!

Huge shoutout to @alicia_a_m_r for nailing big George, setting the record for biggest catfish caught in these tournaments – so proud of her!

Best part? The people: met amazing folks, made new friends. Proud to have represented Team USA and helped control the invasive catfish population with Jess.

Thanks to @wettie.spearfishing for organizing the event and letting us rent such amazing gear. Also, thank you for designing wetsuits actually made for women!!! I love my 2 new suits.

Huge thanks to @nationalfreshwaterspearfishing for creating an amazing community and inviting us to join it!

#spearfishing #spearfish #spearfishingcompetition #spearfish #girlswhospear by @there.she.ventures

24

14

7 months ago

What a crazy couple of days! My dive buddy @dive.with.jess convinced me to join her in the National Freshwater Spearfishing tournament. Considering I'm still new to the sport, I have never shot in freshwater, and I've definitely never been in a tournament before... I was quite nervous! But I knew that I had to try, and with Jess shooting with me... well, why not! 💪

The first day we scouted some of the entry points to Lake Geneva. My first concern was how cold I felt but otherwise it was so beautiful. We spotted our first Rock Bass but never saw the carp. These were the two fish we would be awarded points for. 🐟🐠

The second day we started with a Maccas Breakfast because we were camping ⛺️ and it was the only thing open. Then we geared up in that carpark to my workout playlist to keep warm. At 7am we were allowed to finally enter the water...

I realised quickly that I needed to slow down. We were shooting inside the pier structures mostly as this was the home to the Rock Bass. So the floats had to be secured outside the structure every time. Then I learnt why people have shorter guns as my 100cm gun was a tad more awkward to maneuver. But we were on to a good start and both started catching fish. Then disaster struck as I got my spear caught, but this was such an adventure getting it lose again. However, unfortunately, about halfway through I snapped the tip off my spear! I shot another with no tip but it just came off and I lost it. But then because of my amazing teammate getting her limit and her trusting me with her gun 🙏 I managed to get another on the spear! Jess carried us through to the win with her epic 22 fish, and I'll ever be grateful for just being able to witness her literally killing it! So proud of her enormous effort. 🩵 Hopefully as time goes I'll be able to do the same! I made a lot of mistakes and learnt alot of lessons... so let's see how I do next time!

Also, I think it's time to upgrade my speargun!! So any recommendations??? taken in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin by @there.she.ventures

50

28

2 years ago

SD:37 — JESS PRICE & NANCY WENDEL
World Champions & Vivacious Huntresses 🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🏅🏅🌊

OUT NOW.

🎧 Listen on YouTube, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

#SpearoDiaries #JessandNancy #Spearfishing #SpearfishingPodcast by @there.she.ventures

65

18

3 days ago

🎙️ EPISODE 37 — COMING TUESDAY! 🌊

Jess Price and Nancy Wendel - World champions & vivacious huntresses 🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️

New episode drops Tuesday 13th October. Don’t miss this one!

🎧 YouTube | Spotify | Wherever you listen to podcasts

#SpearoDiaries #Spearfishing #Episode37 by @there.she.ventures

42

11

5 days ago

I haven't scuba dived in a long time! So it was about time to do a refresher so I can hopefully do some more open water scuba trips. Thank you to @wild__faye who got me up to speed and showed me around Blue Heron! 💙 It was such a beautiful dive with so much wildlife!!

#divinglife #scubadiving #scubadiving taken in Blue Heron by @there.she.ventures

9

2

8 days ago

From ocean to plate! 🌊🍽️

My favourite part of spearing is being able to bring home food. It's like the ocean is our own little grocery store. An extra special part is that Rob cooks the fish and makes the best meals. It's teamwork in this house! 🥰

Thanks to @nikka_freediver for joining me in the water when we thought it might not be good visibility at all!! It was a lot better than we expected. 💙

#spearfishing by @there.she.ventures

17

2

16 days ago

Not sure why but this guy entertained me so much 😂🤣

#videooftheday #fishvideo #funnyanimals #funnyanimalvideos #cuteanimalvideos by @there.she.ventures

5

3

a month ago

Monday Funday! A lovely little shore dive to grab some groceries 🐟

@nikka_freediver was armed with her new gun 🔫 and absolutely killing the transition from polespear to a gun. We had a chat about loading and I showed her to pull her shoulders back and down before loading to engage her back muscles instead of just using arms to load. She told me her new load assist was obsolete by the end of the dive! 💪🏼 It's all technique!!

@wild__faye was scooping up all the lobsters and making friends with all the fish schooling with us. She was even plotting to adopt a little guy with a big chunk missing from his side! 😱

A beautiful morning out! Dinner secured and it's nap time! by @there.she.ventures

23

8

a month ago

In Florida we are not allowed to take egg bearing lobsters! 🦞 But have you ever noticed the black spots under the lobster?

This "tar spot" is a sperm packet deposited to the underside of the female. She scratches them to release sperm as she releases her eggs (between 230,000 to 2.6 million eggs each time they spawn, depending on her size). (NOAA 2026)

That is a lot of lobster babies 🍼 for the next seasons! So we always let these mamas go back home. 🏠

Thank you @wild__faye for being my camera woman!

#lobster #spearfishing #freediving #lobstervideo #spearfishingworld by @there.she.ventures

50

6

a month ago

@spearo.diaries invited @there.she.ventures and I to be guests on their podcast! It was so fun talking about Spearfishing with the lovely host, @elise.clynes who we had the pleasure of getting to know as a friend and competitor during @wfsc2017 World Freshwater Spearfishing in New Zealand this past March.

The episode will be released in October!

If you haven't already been filling your ear holes with all things spearfishing from this podcast (@spearo.diaries ), I highly recommend it!

I've listened to every episode so far in the car and have learnt so much from the guests who share their stories and hot tips to become a better spearo.

Thank you for the epic chat and catch up Elise!!! Look forward to seeing you at the next Freshwater Worlds and bringing your A-Game!!! by @there.she.ventures

21

1

a month ago

What a wild week! I’m only just catching my breath. 🫁

As usual, @dive.with.jess and I spent most of our time laughing and running on high energy—heavily assisted by caffeine, of course! 😅

This competition was amazing thanks to all the support from the South Dakota community. Even before we landed @shamelessmule had given us a thorough briefing and took us scouting! The info was invaluable and the ride back in was so much fun. 🎉

Everyone at Oahe Dive Shop (and pawn shop!), was so helpful with gear rental and information 🏆 Their support was priceless, and it's honestly the friendliest dive shop I’ve ever visited. If you ever want to try diving Lake Oahe—and you definitely should—give Michael and his team a call! They will set you up for the best adventure!!! 🫶🏼

Scouting days were long and went along too fast!!!

Then came tournament day! Nerves quickly turned into excitement as we set out with the best captain, Tom (aka "Long Hair" https://longhairfishing.com/ ) An absolute gentleman that gave us all the help we could ask for! If you ever need a fishing guide and captain, he’s your guy. 🎣

The competition was a huge challenge. The lake was beautiful, but the fish were easily spooked, so we had to learn how to hunt multiple species fast. Then came the wild ride of the Tailrace—the section below the dam where the current was so strong I felt like a superhero assassin flying underwater, dodging boulders and shooting fish on a split second's notice! I’ve never experienced anything like it, and while it took a minute to get my head around it, it was SO much fun. I can’t wait to do it again! ♥️

Thanks to Jess for being her badass spearing self! Absolute monster in the water 💪🏼 Thanks to the Outpost Lodge for hosting the event and @nationalfreshwaterspearfishing for organizing it! Huge thanks to the sponsors especially Waihana and Hawaii Rubber for my prizes! They keep these events running!!!

And special thanks to my ♥️ @gymg_eek for all the pep talks and endless support. He always keeps me positive and reminds me of my own abilities! 💪🏼

#spearfishing #spearfishingcomp #southdakota #diving by @there.she.ventures

11

0

a month ago