Fisherman reels in giant 58-pound bass in Raritan Bay

[RAMMFISH66]

ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, New Jersey (WABC) -- A Pennsylvania man made quite the catch while fishing in New Jersey this weekend.

John Callahan was fishing in the Raritan Bay from the shore on Sunday when he finally caught his first nibble after three hours.

It took him nearly 30 minutes to reel in his catch, but he was rewarded with a 58-pound bass on the other end of his line.

Employees from Julian's Biat & Tackle said it was a once-in-a-lifetime catch using fresh bunker chunk as bait.

A fish that size should have photographed and released, NOT taken home!!!!
That is my two cents....see ya all later, RAMMIE

[bulletbob]

ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, New Jersey (WABC) -- A Pennsylvania man made quite the catch while fishing in New Jersey this weekend.

John Callahan was fishing in the Raritan Bay from the shore on Sunday when he finally caught his first nibble after three hours.

It took him nearly 30 minutes to reel in his catch, but he was rewarded with a 58-pound bass on the other end of his line.

Employees from Julian's Biat & Tackle said it was a once-in-a-lifetime catch using fresh bunker chunk as bait.

A fish that size should have photographed and released, NOT taken home!!!!
That is my two cents....see ya all later, RAMMIE


I understand where you are coming from, but the guy is from Pa.. Might be his only striper in years,,, Lots and lots of locals fish stripers several times a week when they are within reach and take home every one they can keep all season long.
Its easier to release fish for another day when a person might be seeing a dozen more in a few days or a week. I am not a "fish hungry" type and release a lot of big fish I catch, but like the angler in question I probably would have kept that one, cleaned it, kept some and gave some away.. Might never see another because they aren't something that I have easy access to... Gotta give the guy the benefit of the doubt.... bob

[RAMMFISH66]

Sounds reasonable..I do a lot of releasing too only keeping what I might eat within the week...I also release a lot of fish since I usually fish at least 3 days a week...gonna hit Cliffwood Beach tomorrow for the incoming/outgoing tides...still to early to hit sandy Hook...see ya all alter, RAMMIE

[Honger]

A fish that size should have photographed and released, NOT taken home!!!!
why?

[WhaleFart]

hell of a fish from shore none the less! shame it was kept, that thing probably tasted like an old boot. to his their own, some people dont get or appreciate the whole C&R thing, id feel kind of shameful/guilty killing a fish that old which clearly is reproducing the population.

[Irish Jigger]

https://patch.com/new-jersey/middletown-nj/man-catches-58-pound-59-inch-striped-bass-atlantic-highlands

[JIMMY L]

A big old fish like that, fighting for 30 minutes, then getting beached and unhooked probably would be impossible to resuscitate. Too bad because the table quality is poor.

[BugEye Chris]

I agree old fish Long fight low chance of successful
Release. Congrats on a great catch from the beach.
Definitely a fish of a lifetime. And for the holier than thou
Criowd who want to beat this guy up go screw
Easy to say you would release a 50 plus bass before you are
Looking at one and thinking just how big is it

[NoLimit]

hell of a fish from shore none the less! shame it was kept, that thing probably tasted like an old boot. to his their own, some people dont get or appreciate the whole C&R thing, id feel kind of shameful/guilty killing a fish that old which clearly is reproducing the population.

The big ones taste just fine. Old fish die of old age if you don’t eat them

[Chris G]

Let the poor bastard have his 2 minutes of fame. Jeesh.

If that fish was caught and harvested by a few other guys on here there would be cyber high five's and ass slaps all around. Hahaha.

[Oceanroamer]

Let the poor bastard have his 2 minutes of fame. Jeesh.

If that fish was caught and harvested by a few other guys on here there would be cyber high five's and ass slaps round. Hahaha.

Hilarious way of putting it. Bust this guy's nuts over one big fish? Then why not bust every single blessed angler, party boat or charter boat that does two-a-days with overs and unders for everyone on the boat including the captain. Some of these anglers and captains are revered on this board. Maybe Mr. Callahan wanted to see if it would hit 60 on the scale.

[SaltLife1980]

I would have kept it my self and get it mounted. The guy would have to wade out into the water and nurse it back to health bc we all know after a fight like that and the size of the fish it can be hard to get em moving again. And plus thats a fish of a lifetime. I say Congrats to him... Thats my 2 cents

[Reelron]

I once watched a friend spend almost an hour reviving a big fish at the dock, so it could swim away. Found the fish, the next day, belly-up further down the river.

Yup release them so the crabs can feed better! I need full healthy crabs to catch Tog!

[Gerry Zagorski]

Let the poor bastard have his 2 minutes of fame. Jeesh.

Exactly!!

[duranautic al]

Good job to the angler!...fish of a lifetime, plus he probably saved thousands of flounder...hope he puts it on the wall!

[slammer]

Congratulations. That must of been one hell of a fight.Ive never caught any thing over 15lbs in the surf.

[Jigman13]

Lock it up! This is gonna be a shit show...

Nice fish. After 30 min fight it wasn't going to live. Move along folks.