84 pound bass?

[DZ]

84 pound bass?
A recent article in the Newport Daily News chronicles some great striped bass catches in the 1800s. The articles author researched past copies of Newport newspapers and uncovered records of the following landings:
August 9, 1858 – Ben Ailman and Will Townsend of Newport landed four striped bass weighing 84, 69, 48 and 19 pounds.
June 18, 1868 – A 67 pounder taken by hook and line from Rough Point (Cliff Walk).
July 5, 1873 – William Post landed a 70 pound bass off Graves Point.
August 23, 1873 – William Whitney took a 65 off of Rough Point.
September 8 & 9, 1875 – Three anglers combined for 26 bass over two days weighing a total of 818 pounds. Top fish were 60, 56,55, & 52 pounds. Taken off Brenton Point.
And finally the most amazing catch of all – On October 5th, 1875 a large Newfoundland dog belonging to a General Potter caught a 40 pound striper. The fish got into some shallow water and the dog discovered it. He caught it by the back, drove it between two rocks and after something of a fight captured it. The bass was sold for $4.00. Apparantly this particular dog was somewhat famous for catching scup.
There you have it. Some striped bass history with large bass caught from shore.