After a banner season, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has officially approved three all-tackle saltwater fishing records caught in the state during the spring and summer of 2021.
Sidney Little caught a record gulf kingfish (also known as a whiting) on April 7 while fishing at Santa Rosa Beach in the state’s Panhandle. Sidney’s 2.8-pound catch topped the previous Gulf kingfish record of 2.4-pounds, set earlier this year by angler Joseph Peckham.
Gulf kingfish are a Southern coastal species that feeds on small fish and invertebrates, and it’s a popular target of surf anglers because the fish makes superb table fare. The IGFA all-tackle record for gulf kingfish weighed 3-pounds, 13-ounces, caught at Kure Beach, North Carolina in 2020 by Vickie M. Hammonds.
FWC also reports that a Florida saltwater record for scamp was set by Mark John Gibner while fishing on June 11 near John’s Pass Marina in Pinellas County, on Florida’s central Gulf Coast west of St. Petersburg. His 29.6-pound scamp beat the previous record of 28.38 pounds set by Braden Douglas Pursell in April 2002.
“I think that for the first 20 feet or so, the fish didn’t know it was hooked,” said Gibner. “When it did, it started to dig. At first, as he was pulling drag, I had to palm my reel to slow him down. But after a short back and forth, I finally got the upper hand and was able to land him with lots of enthusiasm from my friends.”
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Scamp are a saltwater species that inhabits reefs and wrecks throughout the western Atlantic Ocean, from North Carolina through the Gulf of Mexico, and as far south as Belize. Its similar to grouper, and makes for good eating. The IGFA all-tackle record for scamp is 32-pounds, caught June 2, 2016, by Theodore Wingfield out of Atlantic Beach, North Carolina.
Anthony Mastitski filled the vacant species category for schoolmaster, which was opened to records Jan. 1, 2019, according to the FWC. Mastitski’s 2.07-pound schoolmaster was caught in Broward County near Ft. Lauderdale on July 27, 2021.
Schoolmaster is a prized snapper, similar to the dog snapper found throughout the western Atlantic Ocean, distributed at times north to Massachusetts and to South America. In Florida, fish up to 1 pound are common catches near shore, and around reefs and wrecks. The all-tackle IGFA schoolmaster snapper record weighed 13-pounds, 4-ounces from North Key Largo, Florida, taken on Sept. 3, 1999 by Gustavo Pla. But that catch is not recognized by the FWC as a Florida record for the species since it occurred before the state record books were opened.