OCEAN CITY, Md. — Pennsylvania's Fay Ganster hadn't been shark fishing in about 12 years - but when she tried her hand at it in Ocean City last week, she reeled in a big catch.
Ganster ended up catching an 18-pound smooth dogfish on Oct. 22. Now the Reading, Pa., resident is Maryland's new record holder for the Atlantic Division.
The smooth dogfish is part of the shark family, usually swims in packs/schools, and can be caught year-round, said Maryland Department of Natural Resources in a press release.
The fish's weight was certified at Ocean City's Sunset Marina and a DNR biologist confirmed it.
Ganster said she often vacations in Ocean City, and had booked a shark charter trip with her husband months in advance. The trip was unfortunately cancelled due to bad weather, but the Bottom Bouncer fishing charter boat let them come onboard at the last minute.
Ganster spent four or five hours fishing near the Isle of Wight shoal, getting some bluefish and sea bass, before using a piece of bluefish as bait.
When she hooked the record-setting dogfish, she said it took about 20 minutes to reel it in, calling it "a little bit of a battle."
Noting she hadn't gone shark fishing in 12 years, Ganster told DNR:
“This is really cool…this is a big deal.”
