Regular contributor and well known Cork angler Jim Clohessy had a day to remember on Tuesday. Jim and crew were targeting big whiting, haddock and hake and caught some really good fish.
It was the not so well known stone basse that made the day though, Jim managed to land a tremendous fish weighing 13lb 6oz. The current Irish record of 11.72lb was caught by UK angler Tony Rainer on 14 July, 2005, fishing out of Baltimore. If Jim’s fish is ratified by the Irish Specimen Fish Committee, he will be the new record holder!
Nice fish Jim!
The Irish specimen weight for stone basse (Polyprion Americanus) is 8lb and young fish (up to 20lb or so) are sometimes encountered at the surface near floating wreckage. Adults, which may grow up to 100lb, tend to keep near the bottom in deep water.
