The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries has certified a new state record golden tilefish.
Rex Allen Bunting Jr. of Frisco caught the fish April 7 while fishing off Hatteras. The fish weighed 46 pounds. It measured 43 inches from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail and had a 29-inch girth.
Bunting’s fish topped the previous state record, caught off Hatteras in July 2010, by one pound. The world record golden tilefish, weighing 65 pounds, 3 ounces, was caught off New Jersey in 2012.
Bunting caught the fish using squid as bait on an Okuma jigging rod and a Saltist Big Game 30 reel with 80-pound line test. He was fishing with Capt. Kenny Koci on the Big Tahuna out of Teach’s Lair Marina.
Bunting will receive a certificate and be listed on the Division of Marine Fisheries website as the state golden tilefish record holder.
For more information, contact Carole Willis, division sportfishing specialist, at 252-808-8081 or carole.y.willis@ncdenr.gov.
