NJ record-setting fish reeled in
New Jersey Fish and Wildlife keeps records for 59 species of saltwater fish. Currently three of those species — the bull shark, the porbeagle shark and the whiting (silver hake) — have vacant records because no recorded catch has met the minimum weight requirements. Here are a few local record-breaking catches.
Sheepshead
William Catino of Ventnor was fishing off of a dock in Longport in October 2014 when he landed a 19-pound, 3-ounce sheepshead. The monstrous fish broke the previous state record by two pounds.
Saltwater Striped Bass
Fishing one September night in 1982, Al McReynolds reeled in a massive 78-pound, 8-ounce striped bass. It took him an hour and 40 minutes to land the record-breaking fish off a jetty in Atlantic City.
Freshwater Striped Bass
Fishing from the shore of the Great Egg Harbor River in Mays Landing in 2002, John Christian pulled in a 51-pound striped bass using live herring for bait. It smashed the previous state record, set just one year earlier by 14 pounds.
