2 West Virginia men break fishing records by catching a sunfish and trout

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — Two record-breaking fish were caught at the New Creek Dam in Grant County.

Gov. Jim Justice (R) shared photos on social media Sunday of the new state record redbreast sunfish and tiger trout.

The tiger trout was caught by Nathaniel Smith of Burlington and measured 26.73 inches and 11.98 pounds, according to Justice. The previous record trout was longer than Smith’s catch at 28.7 inches, but it only weighed 10.65 pounds. The still longest tiger trout was caught in Krodel Lake in 2011, according to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resource (DNR).

The record redbreast sunfish is the first record set for its species. Redbreast sunfish was one of five new state record fish that were added at the beginning of 2024 . Petersburg resident Zach Adkins caught a 9.29-inch, 9.1-ounce redbreast sunfish, which is large enough by the DNR’s standard to qualify for the record.

In his Facebook post, Justice said, “Congratulations to both of them—these catches are truly once-in-a-lifetime!”

Justice did not specify when each of the record-breaking fish were caught, but he said both were caught in New Creek Dam #14 , which is regularly stocked.

To see the full list of state fishing records, click here .

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