The Chesapeake Bay region’s anglers are some of the most dedicated around, so it’s no surprise that new state fishing records are being set multiple times a year these days (In Maryland, it’s happened three times in the last three months!).
But it’s not every day that a record held for 44 years is broken. That’s what happened earlier this month when Baltimore County resident Logan Kurhmann caught a 49-pound common carp.
Kuhrmann, 24, who lives in Essex, was bass fishing in the Susquehanna Flats June 4 when he caught the hefty carp.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was using a pinning tackle with a plastic worm. He thought he had a catfish on the other end of the line, but what he hauled in was a carp.
“We’ve seen some really big ones up in the Flats but we’ve never seen one this big ever,” Kurhmann said. “The bass fishing wasn’t great but this made my week.”
Kurhmann brought the enormous carp to shore in his live well, and had it weighed on a certified scale by Mike Benjamin of Herb’s Bait and Tackle in North East. It was verified by a DNR biologist.
Kuhrmann’s 49-pound catch breaks the record held by Jimmy Lake, who caught a 44.4-pound fish off Morgantown Beach in Charles County, way back in 1978.
Kuhrmann will be awarded a plaque for his state record in the Chesapeake division.
Anyone who believes they may have a potential record catch should call 443-569-1381 or 410-260-8325. DNR recommends keeping the fish in ice water to preseve its weight until it can be certified.
-Meg Walburn Viviano
