The state Division of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed that Billy Watson from Lansdale, Pa., has officially become a member of a very elite fishing club by catching a new world record ling, also know as red hake.
The 12-pound, 13-ounce fish was caught on February 20, approximately 20 miles east southeast of Manasquan. The fish measured 33 inches in length and had a girth of 19 inches.
Watson was bottom fishing at the Mud Hole on the Jamaica II with Captain Steve Spinelli when he hooked the big fish. He was using a St Croix medium heavy rod and a Diawa Saltese 20H reel loaded with 50-pound Power Pro line and a Gulp 2 inch Glo Shrimp for bait.
Red hake are rarely known to attain weights exceeding 6 or 7 pounds, so this particular fish can truly be considered a monster hake.
White hake on the other hand are very similar looking and known to attain weights of as much as 40 pounds. Since the two species are so similar and the weight of the fish Watson caught was more in the white hake range, marine fisheries biologists diligently examined the fish to confirm the identification and its world record status.
"When I saw it in the cooler, I knew it was a ling, but it had to go through all the biology tests with the state," Captain Joseph Bogan of the Jamaica II said. "I never saw one like that in my life. The biggest one I saw was 8 1/2 pounds," Bogan added.
Division of Fish and Wildlife marine fisheries biologists first examined the fish and counted scale rows and the gill rakers on the upper portion of the first gill arch, which are both reported to be valid diagnostic characters. The initial examination showed the fish to be a red hake. The identification was then confirmed by ichthyologists at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia who x-rayed the specimen to determine the number of abdominal vertebrae, another diagnostic character. This too identified the fish as a red hake.
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