OCEAN CITY — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) this week confirmed a five-pound-plus gray triggerfish caught off the resort coast in late October has set a new state record for the species.
The Maryland record fish list has a brand new species category thanks to the five-pound, two-ounce gray triggerfish caught by Baltimore angler Wayne Gower on Oct. 31. Gower landed the fish while bottom-fishing aboard the headboat “Angler” on a charter off the coast of Ocean City.
“When I reeled in the fish, I could see it was huge compared to the one- to two-pound triggers I’ve caught before,” said Gower.
Gower was one of about 20 passengers on the “Angler,” a 65-foot headboat with Captain Chris Mizurak on a trip to the Great Eastern Reef.
“Wayne comes down from Baltimore about a dozen times a year to fish,” said Mizurak. “We were catching mostly sea bass and bluefish in around 110 feet of water about 20 miles southeast of the Ocean City Inlet. Lately, we have caught some triggerfish in the two- to three-pound range. This one was the biggest I’ve seen.”
Mizurak called DNR Fisheries biologist Steve Doctor to inform him of a large triggerfish to weigh. The crew met Doctor at the dock where he confirmed the species, and then headed to Sunset Marina where weighmaster Amanda Sprows certified its weight. DNR fisheries biologists agreed that a gray triggerfish of this size in Maryland is rare and deserving of a record.