The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries has certified a new state record bluefin tuna.
Retired Army General Scott Chambers of Townsend, Delaware, reeled in the 877-pound fish March 17 after fighting with the fish for 2 ½ hours off Oregon Inlet. 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.
He caught the fish using trolling dead bait on 130 pound line test on a 130 Shimano rod and reel aboard the charter boat A-Salt Weapon fishing out of Pirates Cove Marina in Manteo.
Chambers’ fish broke the former state record bluefin tuna by 72 pounds. That fish was caught off Oregon Inlet, as well, in 2011. The world all-tackle record bluefin tuna was 1,496 pounds and was caught off Nova Scotia in 1979.
For more information, contact Carole Willis, with the North Carolina Saltwater Fishing Tournament, at 252-808-8081 or carole.y.willis@ncdenr.gov.
Download a photo of Chambers’ fish here.