On March 12th, Thomas Garth from Stanardsville, Virginia landed a 5-pound, 15-ounce brook trout from Cub Run in Page County. That’s a big brook trout.
Garth caught the trophy-sized trout with a fly rod using a minnow as bait. The fish measured 20 ¼-inches and was officially weighed at Martin’s Grocery in Harrisonburg. After biologist verification and review by the State Record Committee, Mr. Garth’s catch was certified and is currently recognized as the Virginia State Record Brook Trout. The brook trout surpassed the long held record of 5 pounds, 10 oz. caught by Greg Orndorff in 1987 from Big Stony Creek.
On April 26th, Blake Deal from Nathalie, Virginia, took a 21-pound, 13-ounce longnose gar with archery gear from Lake Gaston in Mecklenburg County. The massive gar measured 48 ¾ inches in length with a girth of 19 inches. Deal captured the fish while bowfishing near the Interstate 85 overpass and had the fish officially weighed at Bobcat’s Bait and Tackle in Clarksville, Virginia. Mr. Deal’s catch was verified by a DGIF biologist, reviewed by the State Record Committee and is now recognized as the Virginia Archery Fishing State Record Gar.