New!! Pending State Record GOLDEN TILE off the Ocean Pearl

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PENDING State Record Golden Tilefish
10 Jun 2008

I received the call from CAPT Steve Wray at about 6pm when he was passing Cape Henry. He thought his angler had a new state record golden tile. I was already on my way to Long Bay Pointe to certify an IGFA Record Spadefish.

The group was deep dropping in the Norfolk Canyon, aboard the Ocean Pearl when Aaron Slede of Virginia Beach hooked into something that took him 30 minutes to hoist to the top. The golden tile weighed in at a whopping 56lbs 8 oz, topping the existing record caught last year, and just a few pounds shy of the All-Tackle World Record also caught last year.

VSWFT committee member, Capt Craig Paige showed up to verify the weight, and everything seemed in order.

Congratulations to the angler, captain, and crew aboard the "OCEAN PEARL."




The crew toasts to a great trip

Congrats to Aaron, Capt Steve and the rest of the crew of Ocean Pearl! Aweomse fish!!!

For Immediate Release
June 23, 2008


Golden Tilefish Record Broken

A 56-pound, 8-ounce golden tilefish, caught on June 10, 2008 by Aaron Sledd of Virginia Beach, has been certified as the new Virginia state record for the species by the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. The record-setting tilefish measured 44 inches (TL) and the roe-laden female sported a 33-1/4-inch girth.

Sledd was fishing off the Virginia Beach coast near the Norfolk Canyon with Captain Steve Wray aboard the charter vessel Ocean Pearl in approximately 600 feet of water when the record-setting fish was hooked. Three other members of the charter party hooked-up with large fish simultaneously. But hammerhead sharks cut the line on one rig and the hooks were straightened on the two other lines. Sledd’s double hook bottom rig, which was tied with 400-pound mono and a pair of heavy 10/0 Owner hooks, was the only rig that held and it withstood a 30 minute wrestling match between angler and fish. The record golden tilefish was caught on a well traveled Penn Slammer Stand-up rod and a 6/0 High-speed Senator reel packed with 80-pound PowerPro braided line. Squid was used for bait.

Golden tilefish was added to the list of eligible species for state record consideration in November 2006 with an initial qualifying weight of 40 pounds. Jeffery Dail was the initial record holder, with a 44-pound golden tilefish caught on April 29, 2007. Dail’s record was bested by Charles Maresh on September 22, 2007 with a 53-1/2-pound tilefish and was the current state record fish prior to the certification of Sledd’s 56-1/2-pound tilefish. The International Game Fish Association All-Tackle record for golden tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaelonticeps) is 59 pounds, 3 ounces and was set in May 2007 off the Maryland coast.

For more information, contact Lewis S. Gillingham, Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament, 968 S. Oriole Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23451, (757) 491-5160, vswft@mrc.virginia.net

Congrats, guys!!!