Maryland has had two records broken for the largest Fallfish taken in the state in the last few weeks. The DNR expects the record could be broken again this summer since the species seems to be growing unusually large this year on the North Branch of the Potomac River.
“There must be something about that river system where they’re feeding well, and they’re coexisting with the trout in the area,” said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Outreach Coordinator Eric Zlokovitz. “They’re growing to fairly large sizes. That’s unusual. It’s rare for them to get over 19 inches.”
Bryson Meyers of Oakland Maryland caught a Fallfish on June 16 which broke an earlier record set in late May by a teen angler. Meyers’ fish weighed in at just over three pounds and was 20 inches long.
He caught the Fallfish on a fly unexpectedly while fishing for Brown Trout near Westernport, Maryland on the North Brack of the Potomac River. The DNR announced the new record in a press release June 30.
“When I first hooked the fish, we thought it was a large brown trout, and it was doing the typical stubborn bulldog fight near the bottom,” Meyers told the DNR.
Just a few weeks before, on May 29, Crosby Abe, 14, from Allegany County, caught a 2.27-pound state-record Fallfish on May 29 while fishing on the North Branch of the Potomac River, near the Cumberland Industrial Park boat launch. .
“There must be something about that river system where they’re feeding well, and they’re coexisting with the trout in the area,” Zlokovitz said. “They’re growing to fairly large sizes.”
