Local fisherman brings in record-breaking 73-lb. bass

[Spiel]

BY MIKE HOLTZCLAW

January 24, 2008

dailypress.com (photos available)

 

 

VIRGINIA BEACH - A Chesapeake fisherman hauled in a 73-pound striped bass on Wednesday, easily the biggest ever caught in Virginia and one of the biggest ever registered in the United States.

 

Fred Barnes, 63, caught the bass while fishing off a boat from the Virginia Beach Fishing Center. He was near the 4A buoy around Cape Henry when he reeled it in. The previous state record was 68 pounds, 1 ounce.

 

John Crowling, general manager of the Virginia Beach Fishing Center, registered the fish at 73 pounds, 52 inches in length and 31½ inches in girth. When Crowling attempted to research national records, he found only larger striped bass ever registered in the U.S. – a 78-pounder caught in New Jersey and a 76-pounder caught in New York.

 

"This one might be the third-biggest ever registered in the U.S., and after this one, the weights drop way off into the high 60s," he said. "You could tell when you first saw the fish that it was just about perfect. It's a very long fish, and it's girth is very big. The food supply out here off Rudee Inlet is so good that the fish are just staying here."

 

Crowling said Barnes does not plan to mount the fish. Instead, he said Barnes had agreed to keep the fish on ice for a few days so that it can be studied by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. Then he plans to fillet it.