On the eve of what many consider the biggest recreational fishing weekend of the year, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife has confirmed a new state record in the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament – a false albacore caught June 29 by a Pennsylvania angler from the fishing boat Get Bent in Masseys Canyon, about 35 miles offshore from Indian River Inlet in the Atlantic Ocean.
Tim Parrill of Wellsville, PA caught the record fish – which measured 30.75 inches long, had a 22-inch girth and weighed 20.5 pounds – with Capt. Craig Lednum at the helm of Get Bent. The false albacore was weighed at Hook ‘Em & Cook ‘Em in Rehoboth Beach and certified as a new state record by Lieutenant Casey Zolper of DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police.
The fish outweighed by a half-pound the previous state record 20-pound false albacore, caught in 2008 by Christian Anderson. A member of the tuna family, also known as “little tunny,” the false albacore is a popular game fish for its fight and run against an angler’s line. It is also the most plentiful of the tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and can make fine seafood when properly prepared.
For more information on the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament, click on 2016 Delaware Fishing Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk in the Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and from license agents throughout the state.
