InTheBite

Wicked Catch! State Record Bluefin Landed in N.C.

By

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries has certified a new state record for bluefin tuna that was caught on Saint Patrick’s Day by an angler aboard a Pirates Cove Marina boat.

The 877-pound bluefin was brought to shore aboard Capt. Dennis Endee’s A-Salt Weapon, after a 2 1/2 hour fight and then another 90 minutes to pull it on board, according to the Pirates Cove Facebook page.

The angler was Scott Chambers from Townsend, Del., a retired U.S. Army general. He caught the fish trolling bait on 130-pound line test on a Shimano 130 rod and reel.

It measured 113 inches curved fork length, tracing the contour of the body from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail, and had a girth of 79 inches.

The “trophy-size” fish was caught on the final day that bluefins more than 73 inches long could be kept in the Atlantic south of Great Egg Inlet, N.J.

The new mark shatters the previous state record of 805 pounds, set in 2011 by Corey Shultz of Waverly, Va. fishing aboard the Sea Breeze out of the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center.

A bluefin weighing more than 1,000 pounds was hauled to the docks in Beaufort earlier this winter, but because that catch was sold to a dealer it was not eligible for the recreational-only N.C. Salt Water Tournament record.

Story courtesy via The Fishing Wire

2 Days & 2 NC Giants

By

Screen Shot 2015-01-08 at 2.28.28 PMOn New Year’s Day, Jason and Hunter Davis started off the year by landing a 785-pound bluefin tuna just outside Beaufort Inlet off Morehead City, North Carolina.

For most anglers that would be the accomplishment of a lifetime, but the Davis team followed up on January 2 with an equally amazing catch-just 12 minutes outside the inlet, they hooked and landed, after a four hour battle, a 767 pound bluefin!

Both fish were caught on ballyhoo baits towed on 80-pound-class rigs, notable because giant bluefins usually require 130’s for success.

The Davis family was aboard their 33-foot, Grady-White called the Grady Bunch. And yes, it has a tuna door.

Note that bluefins are under an international rebuilding plan, and it appears the western stock, which is found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the east coast of the U.S., is apparently rebuilding; ICCAT, the international fisheries management agency, increased the western stock quota from 1,750 metric tons to 2,000 in November of 2014.

Read the full story in North Carolina Sportsman here: – See more at: http://www.thefishingwire.com/story/336323#sthash.kmxlKv9p.dpuf