Jake Eicher knew he was tangling with a world record when he set the hook on a blacktip shark off the Florida Keys in April.

This 16-year-old sophomore from Fox Chapel Area High School didn't know, however, that the fish was nearly twice the size of the previous record.

The International Game Fish Association recently confirmed Eicher's 96-pound, 10-ounce, 58 1/2-inch blacktip as the world record in Men's 30-pound Line and Male Junior classes. Eicher shattered the previous record of 57 pounds.

"We were sight fishing in about 4 or 5 feet of water," he said. "We had caught jacks for chum and were using fillets for bait."

The trip was organized with the goal of setting a new blacktip record. Guide Chris Morrison of Marathon Key provided appropriate tackle, and when five or six sharks responded to the chum, he pointed out which fish for Eicher to target.

"It was a good fight," said Eicher, "maybe an hour and a half. It really wears you out. He'd shake his head and try going under the boat. We started out maybe 200 yards from shore; he pulled the boat a quarter-mile -- maybe a half-mile -- before we stopped."

Eicher said he and his dad Jeff Eicher frequently fish for bass in the Allegheny River, and will search for northerns, muskies and walleyes this summer in Canada.

Eicher's catch reflects a general increase in ocean sport fishing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported last week that marine recreational anglers caught more than 468 million fish in 2007. It was the second highest recreational catch total in the last decade, down slightly from the previous year's record high of 475 million fish.

While marine anglers are catching about 27 percent more fish than a decade ago, more are going back in the water. The NOAA reports the catch-and-release rate has increased to 58 percent.

Trout regulations change

Starting Jan. 1, 2009, anglers without trout-salmon stamps will be allowed to fish in lakes and ponds designated as approved trout waters, as long as they're not targeting trout or salmon.

The regulation was modified last week at the quarterly meeting of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. In other actions:

• About $43,000 was approved for the acquisition of a new access easement on Twenty Mile Creek, east of Erie.

• Restrictions were placed on nighttime fishing on one section of Walnut Creek, west of Erie.

• New restrictions were placed on the sale, introduction and transportation of fish susceptible to the disease VHS (viral hemorrhagic septicemia).

• Commissioner Leonard Lichvar was elected president of the PFBC, and commissioner Thomas Shetterly was elected vice-president. New Commissioner Norman Gavlick made his first appearance at a public meeting.

Find additional actions and details at www.fish.state.pa.us.