The Maryland Department of Natural Resources confirmed that Essex resident Logan Kuhrmann is now the new state record holder for common carp catches in the state’s Chesapeake Division.
The 24-year-old angler hauled in the 49-pound carp on Saturday, June 4 while fishing in the Susquehanna Flats area of the Chesapeake Bay.
The record was confirmed on Tuesday, June 7.
Officials said that at the time he caught the carp, Kuhrmann was using a spinning tackle with a plastic worm and thought at first he’d hooked either a flathead or blue catfish.
Kuhrmann was able to get the carp aboard his boat after a few minutes of struggle and it was subsequently tossed into the live well.
The catch was weighed on a certified scale by Mike Benjamin of Herb’s Bait and Tackle in North East, and verified by a Department of Natural Resources biologist.
Before Kuhrmann’s catch, the previous record of 44.4 pounds was held by Jimmy Lake with a fish caught off Morgantown Beach in 1978.
"We’ve seen some really big ones up in the Flats but we’ve never seen one this big ever,” Kuhrmann said. “The bass fishing wasn’t great but this made my week.”
The department continues to maintain state records for sport fish - which can be found here - in four divisions: Atlantic, Chesapeake, Nontidal, and Invasive. Awards plaques are provided to anglers who make record catches.
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