A 2 pound, 13 ounce southern kingfish caught on September 29th by Chip Watters of Virginia Beach has been certified as the new Virginia state record for kingfish by the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament.
Watters caught his fish while surf fishing at Sandbridge in the southern part of Virginia Beach. The kingfish, which measured 18.5 inches in length and had a girth of 11.25 inches, was fooled by a sand flea fished on a homemade bottom rig with a circle hook. Watter's fish is larger than the current International Game Fish Association world record, and an application for the record will be filed.
Apparently, Watters has found a beach location with a good population of large kingfish. In the last ten days he has also beached fish weighing 1 pound, 15 ounces and 1 pound, 12 ounces.
The prior state record of 2 pounds, 9 ounces was caught at Cape Charles Harbor in the Chesapeake Bay by Kevin Logan of Amherst. Logan caught his fish on September 13, 1998.
The kingfish is a fish with many different local or regional names. The most popular colloquial names include roundhead, sea mullet, whiting, Virginia mullet, and king whiting.
Posted: 10-21-2002
