World Record

Greg Myerson broke the striped bass world record in 2011 while fishing at a reef off the coast of Westbrook, Conn. Myerson was fishing a live eel when he hooked into the world record striper, measuring in at 54 inches, and weighing 81.88 pounds. The gigantic fish toppled the previous world record by 3 pounds, which had been untouched for 29 years.

Myerson shared his account of the night along with his world record application, “After a 15-minute fight on my St. Croix rod and Quantum reel, I got the striped bass close enough to the boat for netting.

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The fish was bigger than I thought. I slipped on eel slime and banged my ribs against the gunwale of the boat. But it didn’t matter. The monster fish was mine. At this point it was about 8 pm, I put the fish into the hold and fished the rest of the tide. As I fished, I repeatedly peered into the hold and asked myself ‘is this striper really that big?’ The following morning, I brought the striped bass to Jack’s Shoreline Bait and Tackle to be weighed. The fish measured 54 inches in length and tipped Jack’s digital scale at 81.88 pounds. It really was that big.”

Maine

Maine’s striper record was set by Douglas Dodge, who caught a 67-pound striper while fishing in the Sheepscot River on Sept. 20, 1978.

Massachusetts

The Massachusetts striper record is held by three different anglers who each caught a 73-pound bass.

• The first 73-pound striper was caught in 1973 by Charles Church at Quicks Hole.
• A second 73-pound striped bass was reeled in by Charles Cinto at Sow and Pigs Reef in 1967.
• The most recent 73-pound striper was caught in 1981 by the late Tony Stetzko at Nauset Beach.

New Hampshire

The New Hampshire striper record was caught in June of 1980 by Robert Lindholm. In an interview with WMUR 45 years after his record catch, Lindholm reported his fishing mentor John Twitchell also reeled in a 51-pound striper the same day as his 60 pound and 51-inch record. Lindholm also reported having caught four more 50 plus pound fish since his record catch in 1980.

New Jersey

Al McReynolds reeled in a 78.8-pound striper from an Atlantic City jetty during a Nor’easter on Sept. 21, 1982. High winds and large waves pushed mullet out of Absecon Inlet where a school of stripers trapped the baitfish against the north side of the Vermont Ave. jetty. The 78.8-pound fish stood as the striper world record until it was toppled by Greg Myerson, who caught an 81.88-pound bass in 2011.

New York

The New York striper record was caught in July of 1981 by Bob Rochetta at East Setauket, N.Y. Rocchetta was fishing off of Montauk when he hooked up with his 76-pound record.

Rhode Island

The Rhode Island striper record is held by fishing legend Peter Vican, who caught a 77.64-pound bass in 2011. Vican was using a 6/0 circle hook, live eel, and a 3-ounce egg sinker when he hooked into a large striper in 40-feet of water. The Striper Cup Champion battled the bass in a ripping current for 30 minutes on a St. Croix graphite rod and Penn 560 spinning reel. In an interview, Vican recalled how massive his fish looked once he got it on the deck, “as the fish lay next to my 48-pounder, it looked like it could have swallowed the smaller fish.” Vican’s fish toppled his previous state record by half a pound.