New North Carolina State Tarpon Record Set

According to a press release from the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, a Carteret County angler, Malcolm Condie, set a new state record when he reeled in a 193 pound 5-ounce tarpon while fishing for king mackerel off a North Topsail Island pier.

“It hit the king rig at 12:30 (p.m.) and I landed it within an hour,” Condie said.
The fish measured 80 inches fork length (tip of the nose to the fork in the tail) and had a girth of 42 inches.
Jesse Lockowitz held the previous state record with a 175-pound tarpon caught at Bogue Inlet Pier Sept. 7, 2005. The world record tarpon was 283 pounds, caught in Africa.

Condie said he initially hoped to donate the fish to the N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. Instead, researchers with the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences happened to be in the area, so he allowed them to remove the ear bones and other fish parts for DNA, and age tests.

“They’ve never had access to a (tarpon) of this size in North Carolina,” Condie said.