Virginia Angler Establishes New Maryland Atlantic Division Striped Bass Record

OCEAN CITY, MD (May 13, 2003) - An immense migratory striped bass caught off of Assateague Island on Mother’s Day has the distinction of being the new Maryland record striped bass in the state’s Atlantic Division.

Thirty-four year old Chris Salp of Alexandria, Va, reeled in the 52-pound, 8-ounce monster striper while surf fishing on the morning of Sunday, May 11. The female rockfish, which had spawned in the Chesapeake and was migrating north, measured 52 inches in length with a girth of 28.5 inches, and exceeded the previous Atlantic Division record holder of 48 pounds, 2 ounces. Salp, who fought the fish for 10 minutes before successfully landing it, used a 12½-foot surf-casting rod with 20-pound test line and bunker head for bait. The fish was weighed on certified scales at Ake Marine in Ocean City and verified by Dale Timmons and DNR biologist, Mike Lewis. DNR Fisheries Service biologists estimate the fish was 18 to 22 years old.

Salp’s catch is unusual in that very few stripers caught in the Chesapeake Bay or off the Maryland coast exceed 48 inches. In fact, of the many thousands of striped bass caught and tagged in surveys up and down the Atlantic coast each year, only a handful ever crack the 50-inch threshold. Had Salp’s fish been caught prior to releasing her eggs in the Chesapeake, it is estimated she would have weighed 16 to 20 percent more, which, in all likelihood, would have broken the current Maryland Chesapeake Bay record as well. That record is 67 pounds, 8 ounces and was set on May 13, 1995 at Bloody Point.

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