DNR News
** Archived Article - please check for current information. **
June 22, 2011
New state records for scamp, queen triggerfish
Two additions have recently been made to the S.C. Saltwater Game Fish State Record list. A new state record Scamp was caught on June 14 by angler Ross Holmquist of Beaufort, SC, and a tie for state record Queen Triggerfish was caught on June 15 by angler James Hunter Woodberry of Lake City, SC.
Twenty-three year old Holmquist was fishing aboard "No Worries," a 26-foot Glacier Bay, with captain and owner Mike Sackman of Beaufort, SC, when he caught the record breaking Scamp. The boat left Port Royal Sound on Tuesday morning, and fished over live bottom approximately 45 miles off shore. The fish was hooked
in 130 feet of water, and then brought on board after a four minute fight using a 7-foot Shimano Tallus rod paired with a TLD 25 reel and using a live porgy for bait. That evening, the fish was brought back to Port Royal Landing Marina where the fish was weighed in at 26 pounds and 15 ounces. The catch was weighed and certified the following day by weigh-master and S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) biologist Lindsay Roberg. This weight was enough to beat the historic Scamp record by 1 pound 6.2 ounces. The historic record, held by Edward M. Lowe, Jr of Upper Marlboro, MD, weighed 25 pounds 8.8 ounces and was caught September 2007.
The record Queen Triggerfish was caught aboard "First Choice," a 29-foot Fountain, by 12-year-old Hunter Woodbury. The boat is owned and captained by his father, Tony Woodbury of Lake City, SC. The crew left from Georgetown on the morning of Wednesday, June 15 and spent a full day fishing near the Georgetown Hole. Woodbury hooked the fish in 175 feet of water using an Extreme Rod by Bass Pro Shop paired with a Shimano Torium reel and cigar minnow for bait. The fish was put on ice, and fishing continued until the end of the day
when the crew headed back to Lake City. The crew decided to weigh the fish after returning home, and headed to the local IGA grocery store to use their US Department of Agriculture-certified scale. A weight of 9 pounds 7 ounces was recorded by weigh-master Tommy Jean Floyd of Lake City, SC, which was enough to tie the historic state record. The fish was stored on ice overnight, until the catch could be certified by DNR biologist Kris Reynolds the next afternoon. The 9 pound 7 ounce triggerfish beat the 5-year-old record by 1.88 ounces, but fell short of the 4 ounces required to overtake a historic record. This historic Queen Triggerfish record was held by Marc Heiden of Florence, SC, weighed 9 pounds 5.12 ounces, and was caught in January 2006.
State Record Marine Game Fish Program Coordinator Amy Dukes verified the both of the new state records on June 16.
For a current listing of the S.C. State Record Marine Game fish, contact Program Coordinator Amy Dukes with the Office of Fisheries Management at (843) 953-9365 or email DukesA@dnr.sc.gov.
DNR encourages anglers to help protect our fisheries by retaining only those fish that will be consumed, and practicing good handling skills with those fish that will be released.
Learn more about increasing survival of the fish you release at the DNR website.
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