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South Carolina Man Catches Jaw-Dropping Snook: ‘Nicest One I’ve Ever Seen’

Over Thanksgiving, Abe Kuhn, 39, caught and released one of the largest snook ever caught in Charleston, S.C.

As the angler went out in the Charleston Harbor, he couldn’t have expected what his catch of the day would turn out to be.

After pitching out a shrimp on a Z-Man jig head, Abe hooked what he believed to be a hefty redfish.

“He smoked it. He took off, but he didn’t run like a run. It obviously wasn’t a trout. When it popped up and flashed me, I thought ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’ and I grabbed the net,” said Kuhn.

A Snook Becomes Catch of the Day in Charleston, S.C.

“I had to give this guy directions back to Florida. He was very lost,” Abe Kuhn captioned the post.

Angler Catches a Species of Fish Uncommon to the Area

As the fish surfaced, Kuhn couldn’t believe what he had on the end of his line.

He knew he had hooked a snook due to its distinct markings, but Abe was dumbfounded since the fish is not native to the waters in the Carolinas.

Snook are commonly found in Florida. They have a distinctive black lateral line running from the gill plate to the tail.

A Selfie with the Snook

“I didn’t even think about a record,” said Kuhn, who was alone in the boat. “I grabbed the net, set up the camera on my phone, and took a picture and got it back in the water.”

Using a Daiwa 1500 reel spooled with a 10-pound test line and a fluorocarbon leader estimated the snook measuring around 26 to 28 inches.

“It was a pretty nasty afternoon,” he explained. “I have a little trout hole out there and I was catching a mixed bag. I caught a handful of trout, a handful of flounder, the snook, and a black drum. It was a good bite for a quick trip.”

Although Abe Kuhn made a monumental catch, he will have to be satisfied with the fish selfie. As well as being content with knowing the snook is continuing its swim through the water.

A Trophy Catch Without the Actual Trophy

Requirements in South Carolina include the fish being frequently encountered, popular recreational targets must be easy to identify, and the species must also have a healthy population.

Mel Bell, the Director of the Office of Fisheries Management for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources said the department doesn’t receive frequent reports and photos of snook being caught from South Carolina waters.

Bell agrees the catch is definitely trophy-worthy.

“Honestly, that’s the nicest one I’ve seen,” Bell said. “You hear of snook caught in the area every now and then. I think they are rare this far north, and that is a good size for around here.”

Bell says biologists believe snook and other species are expanding northward due to temperatures in the water continues to rise.

“We’re seeing a lot of things within fisheries that we didn’t see 10, 20, 30 years ago,” Bell said.