InTheBite

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

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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

NC Charter Boat Skippers To Meet

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oregoninletMorehead City, NC  – The For-Hire Stakeholder Advisory Group will meet at 6 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Craven County Cooperative Extension Center auditorium, 300 Industrial Drive, New Bern.

The group will discuss the pros and cons of a state logbook summarizing the catch of state licensed charter and guide boat captains. The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries does not plan to request authority for a for-hire logbook at this time; however, the group will be asked for input as to what type of logbook, if any, they might like to see in the future.

The division is required to submit findings of the study to the N.C. General Assembly in January.

For more information, contact Don Hesselman, License and Statistics Section chief with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, at 252-808-8099 or Don.Hesselman@ncdenr.gov.