Angler catches Maryland state record yellowedge grouper

Annapolis, Md. — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources recognized Jian Feng Li, of Silver Spring, Md., as the first state record holder for yellowedge grouper.

Li caught the 38.0-pound, 43-inch fish on Aug. 27 while fishing in Poorman’s Canyon off Ocean City. He was deep-dropping with false albacore strips for bait and was using a hand-cranked conventional reel.

The group of anglers on Captain Chase Eberle’s charter boat Tiderunner started the day fishing offshore for dolphinfish (mahi) and other pelagic fish – those that live in the water column and not near the bottom or shoreline.

Eventually, the anglers decided to deep drop false albacore strip baits with heavy sinkers into 420 feet of water in Poorman’s Canyon, looking for large bottom fish.

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Four anglers hooked up with big fish, and three broke off. Li was the only angler to bring his fish to the surface – a state-record grouper.

Staff at Sunset Marina in Ocean City weighed the fish on a certified scale. Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologist Gary Tyler confirmed the species.

The yellowedge grouper commonly ranges from North Carolina to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. With the recent popularity of deep dropping, anglers have reported catching them in the canyons off of New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia.

They are a solitary, deep-water species occurring in rocky areas and on sand or mud bottoms in 290 to 1,200 feet of water. On soft bottoms, they are often seen in or near trenches or burrow-like excavations.

Yellowedge grouper feed on a wide variety of invertebrates (mainly brachyuran crabs) and fishes. They are considered very good for eating, among the best of the grouper species when fresh.

Li’s catch is the first state record for this species. It is only 10.6 pounds lighter than the International Game Fish Association world record yellowedge grouper, a 48.6-pound fish caught off Dauphin Island, Alabama, in June 2012.