--- title: "New Jersey Man Spears State-Record Flounder While Diving at a WWII Shipwreck" description: "Jared Smith speared the state-record winter flounder while scuba diving off the New Jersey coast in July. His record was certified Sept. 25." date: "2025-09-29" modified: "2025-09-29" authors: - name: "Dac Collins" job_title: "News Editor" link: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/authors/dac-collins/" url: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/fishing/new-jersey-record-winter-flounder-speared/" categories: - "Fishing" - "Record Fish" - "Saltwater Fishing" tags: - "News" --- # New Jersey Man Spears State-Record Flounder While Diving at a WWII Shipwreck ![A New Jersey diver holds up a winter flounder he speared.]() *Jared Smith with the state-record winter flounder he speared off the New Jersey coast in July. Photo courtesy New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection / via Facebook* On Thursday New Jersey fisheries officials certified a new state record for winter flounder in the spearfishing division. In [its Sept. 25 announcement](), the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection credited Jared Smith of Wildwood as the new record holder. Smith speared the flounder this summer while scuba diving off the *[Dina Dee II]()*, which is a charter boat based in Barnegat Light on the northern tip of Long Beach Island. The boat takes divers out to various shipwrecks in the area, including the *R.P. Resor*, which is where Smith landed his state-record flounder on July 21, according to NJDEP. Smith’s winter flounder measured 19.25 inches long with a 15.25-inch girth. It weighed 3 pounds 8.2 ounces, beating out the previous record by just over an ounce. Winter flounder are a separate species from summer flounder, also known as fluke, which grow much larger. The two species can be distinguished by noting where their eyes are located — fluke are “left-eyed,” meaning their eyes are on the left side of their bodies, while winter flounder are “right-eyed.” Some social media users were quick to comment on [NJDEP’s post]() about Smith’s flounder, saying the fish shouldn’t count as a record because it was taken with a spear. But Smith's record won’t actually affect the other rod-and-reel records already on the books. New Jersey maintains [a separate category for spearfishing records](), with 17 different saltwater species eligible for inclusion. This is just a fraction of the 59 total species that are eligible under the state’s regular (rod-and-reel) [saltwater records category](). **Read Next:** [Freediver Spears Pending Record Pompano During Florida Tournament, Wins First Place]() The *R.P. Resor* was a World-War-II-era oil tanker that was torpedoed off the Jersey coast by a German U-Boat in 1942. The wreck can still be found roughly 31 to 34 miles offshore in 50 to 125 feet of water. In addition to being a popular [diving location](), it’s [a well-known spot]() for tuna fishermen and other deep-sea anglers in the area. ## Author Dac Collins is the News Editor at *Outdoor Life*. He helps tell the latest stories about America's hunters and anglers while reporting on critical conservation issues, oftentimes with a fly rod or shotgun in hand. He lives in Colorado with his wife and son. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [LinkedIn]()