OCEAN CITY — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has confirmed a gray triggerfish caught off the coast of Ocean City late last month is a new state record for the species.
On Sept. 25, Logan Liddick, 34, of Carlisle, Pa., was fishing above a shipwreck about 14 miles off the coast of Ocean City when he landed the 6-pound, 20-inch gray triggerfish. Using both clams and squid for bait, Liddick spent the morning catch sea bass and a couple of smaller gray triggerfish when his line took off. The triggerfish struck a clam bait on a two-hook top-bottom rig.
“There was a solid dead weight,” he told the DNR. “This is a good fish.”
The Ocean City Fishing Center staff certified the weight and a DNR biologist verified the species. The 6-pound gray triggerfish broke the previous record for the species, a 5.6-pounder caught by Ocean City resident Mike Glyphis last November.
The DNR maintains state records for sport fish in four divisions including Atlantic, Chesapeake, Nontidal and Invasive, and awards plaques to anglers who achieve record catches. Fish caught from privately-owned, fee-fishing waters are not eligible for consideration.
