Two Washington Sport Fish Records Fall

OLYMPIA--The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) confirmed today that two state sport fish records fell during one late September weekend.

Mike Benoit, of Gig Harbor, set a new state record for the largest opah caught off the coast of Washington on Sept. 23. The 37.98-pound fish measured 32.5 inches. Benoit was live bait fishing with anchovies out of Westport.

The new record exceeded the previous opah record by more than two pounds. That record was held by Jim Watson on a fish caught 45 miles off the coast of Washington.

Then, on Sept. 24, Erik Holcomb of Lynden set a new state record for the largest blue shark. The 49.50-pound fish measured 71 inches. Holcomb was also live bait fishing with anchovies out of Westport.

The new record exceeded the previous blue shark record by almost 22 pounds. That record was held by Zachary Jackson on a fish caught 57 miles off the coast of Washington.

A complete list of Washington's sport fishing records is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/records/