RICHMOND, Va. -- A Virginia fisherman shot an arrow near an Interstate 85 overpass to break a state record, according to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF). The record was recently reviewed and certified by the department's State Record Committee.
Blake Deal from Nathalie, Virginia, arrowed a 21-pound, 13-ounce longnose gar on April 26.
"Mr. 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," a DGIF spokesperson said. "The massive gar measured 48 ¾ inches in length with a girth of 19 inches."
Blake Deal from Nathalie, Virginia
The previous record for gar captured with archery gear was 19 pounds, 14 ounces.
Another fisherman set a state record this year for brook trout.
"On March 12, Thomas Garth from Standardsville, Virginia landed a 5-pound, 15-ounce brook trout from Cub Run in Page County. Mr. Garth caught the trophy-sized trout with a fly rod using a minnow as bait," the spokesperson said. "The fish measured 20 ¼ inches and was officially weighed at Martin’s Grocery in Harrisonburg, Virginia."
Thomas Garth from Standardsville, Virginia
Garth's fish was the largest brook trout caught in Virginia since 1987 when a 5-pound, 10-ounce trout was caught in Big Stony Creek.
