fisherman-breaks-maryland-state-record-with-fish-species-he-couldnt-identify

Fisherman Breaks Maryland State Record With a Fish Species He Couldn’t Identify

A Maryland fisherman officially broke the state record for largest Florida pompano after catching the fish during Labor Day weekend. However, the Woolford, MD native admits he had no clue what type of fish it was when he caught it.

David Schrock, 26, was fishing from the shore in the Black Walnut Point area with multiple rods. He noticed one fishing rod was taking off. And a friend assumed that the fish might be a large bluefish. 

“We had no idea what it was at first,” he told the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The department decided the aquatic species was a Florida pompano, or Trachinotus carolinus. Accordingly, they informed Schrock that he had broken a state record with the 5.05-pound, 18.5-inch fish.

Schrock claims he struggled to reel in the fish for about 10 minutes before officially catching the record setter. To be fair, the Florida pompano was just recently recognized for the record books. Afterwards, then-14-year-old angler Scott Hartzell Jr. set the first record for the species in July 2019.

According to the Maryland DNR, Schrock will be awarded a commemorative plaque for his catch, but he’s angling for a bigger prize, should his luck continue.

“Wow … I think I need to play the lottery,” he said of his record catch.

It has been a good year for fishermen breaking records. Three separate fishing records in South Carolina were broken for three species of saltwater fish this summer alone. They included a 28-pound skipjack tuna, a 35-pound snowy grouper, and a 27-pound golden tilefish.

[H/T FOX News]