The North Carolina 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, 2018, after fighting with the fish for 2-1/2 hours off Oregon Inlet.
The bluefin tuna 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.
Chambers caught the fish using trolling dead bait on 130-lb line test on a 130 Shimano rod and reel aboard the charter boat A-Salt Weapon fishing out of Pirates Cove Marina in Manteo NC.
Chambers’ fish broke the former North Carolina record bluefin tuna by 72 pounds. That previous-record fish was also caught off Oregon Inlet, back in 2011.
Note that the world all-tackle record bluefin tuna was 1,496 pounds, caught off Nova Scotia in 1979.
Source: Patricia Smith, Division of Marine Fisheries
