Image by South Carolina Department of Natural ResourcesImage by 20080620bigfish.jpg Steve Bagnall and his record catch weighing 38 pounds.

A visiting man from Vancouver, Wash., has broken the South Carolina's 11-years strong record for the biggest African Pompano.

Steve Bagnall, 51, caught the 38 pound fish on June 3rd while on a charter fishing trip off Charleston's coast. The boat out of Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant was captained by Mark Brown.

From the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources' press release:
Bagnall’s catch tops the previous marine game fish state record holder for the African Pompano by two and a half pounds, which was set by M. L. Wireman from Charleston in May of 1997.

Bagnall and Brown took the monster fish to Mt. Pleasant Seafood to be weighted, where Joe Shisko, a fish monger at the fish house weighted the fish. Fisheries Biologist and State Record Marine Game Fish Program Coordinator Amy Dukes verified the new state record the following morning.

The world-record catch weighs 50 pounds, and was made in Florida.