MARYLAND- A Salisbury angler is now a Maryland record holder for the Florida Pompano in the Chesapeake Division.
The Department of Natural Resources says Bobby Graves caught the record-breaking 6.44-pound fish in the Chesapeake Bay near Bloodsworth Island in Dorchester County on Sunday. The fork length of the fish was 20.25 inches and the total length to the tip of the tail was 22 inches. He caught the fish while trying to catch spotted sea trout using soft crab for bait, DNR says.
This new record breaks the previous record set by David Schrock on Labor Day weekend of 2020, a 5.05-pound fish caught from shore on Tilghman Island, officials say. The current International Game Fish Association world record for Florida pompano is 8.25 pounds, caught in Port St. Joe Bay, Florida, in October 1999.
The species is usually found in the southeastern U.S., in the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, but occasionally moves northward and has become increasingly common in Maryland waters. Given its increased frequency, the Department of Natural Resources began recognizing Florida pompano for Maryland state records in 2019.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources maintains state records for sport fish in four divisions – Atlantic, Chesapeake, Nontidal, and Invasive – and awards plaques to anglers who achieve record catches. Fish caught from privately-owned, fee-fishing waters are ineligible for consideration.