Angler trumps new state record for white grunt
A mere 37 days after the first state record for a white grunt was added
to the S.C. Saltwater Marine Gamefish record list, it was trumped by a Mt.
Pleasant angler.
Jason N. Edgerton caught a 5-pound white grunt on March 10th off the coast
of Charleston on the Y73 – Reef. The new record beats the initial state
record, set by Sean Murphy of Myrtle Beach on February 2nd by two pounds.
Edgerton, 30, headed off shore with owner and captain of Purpose One
Charters, Rick Reddick, on his twin engine 26' Mako Center Console boat.
The crew, including Ben Floyd and Wes Covington, had a great day catching
their limit of black seabass, vermilion snapper, and red porgy's. One
last set for the day landed Edgerton into the record book for his prize
white grunt. Using an 8-foot Shakespeare “ugly stick" rod paired with a
conventional Penn reel and using a whole cigar minnow for bait, he reeled
in the fish in about two minutes. Only after being convinced by friend
and fishing buddy, Mike Hightower, did Edgerton decide he better have the
fished measured and weighed. Mike Able, owner of Hadderell's Point Tackle
and Supply, and rod and reel repair technician, Steve Baysinger, weighed
the white grunt on their certified scale the following day. Edgerton
then brought the fish to the Marine Resources Center at S.C. Department of
Natural Resources (DNR), and Amy Dukes, fisheries biologist and State
Record Marine Game Fish Program Coordinator verified the new state
record. Paulette Mikell, DNR fisheries biologist with the MARMAP project,
determined the white grunt was male, and took genetic samples from the
fish to determine the age and maturity.
DNR protects and manages South Carolina’s natural resources by making
wise and balanced decisions for the benefit of the state’s natural
resources and its people.
