Fishing News And Chat

August 2007 - Norman T. Jenkins of Portsmouth, VA has established a new state record for croaker with an 8 lbs., 11 oz. fish caught August 17th. This smashes the long-standing state record for the species of 5 lbs., 13 oz., which had been set 25 years earlier in October of 1982. Jenkins has filed an application with the International Game Fish Association for acceptance of his Atlantic croaker as the world all-tackle record.

The 63-year-old Jenkins caught his record-setting croaker in about 30 feet of water near New Point Light on a squid and minnow “sandwich” while fishing for flounder with Sam Brooks on his private boat Wulfkat IV. The fish had a length of 27 inches and a girth of 17 inches and was Jenkin’s first citation catch.

“This fish is so much larger than any croaker previously caught by any method that many anglers will view it as an anomaly,” stated tournament director Claude Bain. “This fish moves the bar substantially higher, and we are anxiously awaiting word from our scientific community about the age of this fish.”

The previous state record had been held by Jim Mitchem of Gwynn, VA for the fish he caught on October 5, 1982. Mitchem’s croaker measured 22 inches and was caught at the Cell.