Chris Salp of Alexandria, VA broke the Maryland Atlantic Division striped bass state record Sunday, May 11th while surf fishing off Assateague Island. The 34-year old angler's catch exceeded the previous Atlantic Division striped bass state record of 48 pounds, 2 ounces by 4 pounds, 6 ounces for a total of 52 pounds, 8 ounces. The post-spawn female rockfish measured 52 inches in length and had a girth of 28.5 inches. Salp was using bunker head for bait and it took 10 minutes to land this fish using 20 pound test line. Nearby anglers, Dave Swenson and Steve Coleman witnessed the catch. The fish was weighed on certified scales at Ake Marine in Ocean City, Maryland and verified by Dale Timmons and DNR Biologist, Mike Lewis. DNR Fisheries Service biologists estimate that this fish was 18 to 22 years old. Scales and otoliths were taken for aging purposes. Now that you have facts, here is the juicy tidbit of information. There are not that many stripers over 48 inches swimming around out there. In fact, of the many thousands of striped bass caught and tagged in surveys up and down the coast, very few ever crack the 50 inch threshold. This was a very large fish indeed. Had that fish been caught prior to her releasing eggs in the Chesapeake Bay, that fish would have weighed an estimated 16 to 20 percent more, which more than likely would have broken the Maryland State record for Chesapeake Bay. The current Chesapeake Bay striped bass state record is 67 pounds, 8 ounces caught May 13, 1995 at Bloody Point.

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