Huge ‘trophy-sized’ flounder reeled in by angler — and smashes Connecticut record

A man smashed a state record by catching a huge, “trophy-sized” summer flounder off the coast of Connecticut.

Bill Proulx, of East Lyme, reeled in the flatfish known for putting up a fight in the waters off of Niantic, a small village in East Lyme situated next to the Niantic Bay, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spokesman David Molnar told McClatchy News on June 15.

However, the exact location of the catch is a “secret,” Molnar said.

The summer flounder weighed in at 15.3 pounds with a length of just over 32 inches and a girth of around 26 inches, according to Molnar.

Proulx now holds the title of the “Duke of Fluke” after beating the previous state record for summer flounder held by Michael Maffucci, Molnar said.

In 2019, Maffucci caught a nearly 15-pound summer flounder.

This particular flounder species is fast-growing, with males able to reach more than 2 feet in length and females reaching up to 3 feet in length, according to Molnar.

Summer flounders are found along the Atlantic coast from Maine down to North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Niantic is about 45 miles southeast of Hartford.

This story was originally published June 15, 2023 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Huge ‘trophy-sized’ flounder reeled in by angler — and smashes Connecticut record."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.