From the Star Ledger:
73 1/4-pound striper trolled off Va. Beach
Friday, January 25, 2008
One of the largest striped bass ever caught on rod and reel was boated Thursday morning off Virginia Beach. Fred Barnes of Chesapeake, Va., was trolling a Mann's Stretch 30 from Capt. Pat Foster's Country Girl out of Virginia Beach Fishing Center when a 73 1/4-pound bass was fought on a Penn 40 reel filled with 50-pound line.
That striper was an unexceptional 52 inches long, which ordinarily wouldn't even make 50 pounds -- but had a girth of 31 1/2 inches. It will be interesting to find what she (all very large stripers are females) had in her stomach as those dimensions by formula result in "only" about 64 1/2 pounds. The standard formula (length times girth squared divided by 800) is usually quite accurate in the case of striped bass. The present Virginia state record is 68 pounds, 1 ounce.
The International Game Fish Association world record for striped bass is the same as the N.J. standard -- the 78 1/2-pounder plugged from an Atlantic City jetty the night of Sept. 21, 1982, by Albert McReynolds. That catch came on the heels of a 76-pounder boated on an eel by Capt. Bob Rocchetta during an eclipse of the moon on July 17, 1981, at Montauk. The latter is still the IGFA 50-pound line class record. However, if his line overtests and all other conditions are met, Barnes could get the IGFA 80-pound line class record that stood at 70 pounds as of 2007.
Fish of a Lifetime!!!!!!!!!! What a Monster!
