It was a little windy and chilly, and I had to bundle up, but I just got back from an epic trip to the Route 90 bridge! I was throwing Thing a Ma Jigs at the bridge today catching and releasing stripers in 53 degree water when I got a thump that I knew was something different!
Two and a half hours later I netted this gigantic 50″ rockfish after it ate a 1/2 oz red head Thing a Ma Jig. The big striper had a girth of 38″ and my hand scale read 70.25 pounds, but since our coastal regulations only allow stripers to be harvested between 28″ and 31″, the big fish was released to swim another day.
This would have smashed the current coastal division Maryland state record for striped bass of 57.2 pounds caught by Gary Smith back in May of 2006.
I was fishing solo, but my catch was verified by Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
Happy April Fool’s Day!!
