Imagine cruising 21 miles off the coast, hunting for massive bluefin tuna, and dragging in a fish that actually leaves you bummed out. That’s exactly what happened to 19-year-old Cooper Clark while trolling a reef spot near Ocean City, Maryland. As Outdoor Life reported, Cooper hooked a total powerhouse of a fish, but the mood shifted when it finally hit the deck. As Cooper put it, “He brought it aboard and I was disappointed it was a false albacore and not a tuna.”
Because false albacore (also known as little tunny) are notoriously terrible for dinner, the crew threw it on ice, planning to chop it up for bait later. I mean, can you imagine this happening in Montana? You’re out on Flathead Lake, you reel in a monster, and your first thought is, “Eh, throw it in the cooler, we’ll slice it up for trout bait tomorrow.”
Fortunately, Cooper did a quick Google search on the boat ride home and realized his “disappointing” bait fish was actually an absolute monster. The next day, the scales certified it at a whopping 28.2 pounds—officially smashing the Maryland state record. The crazy part is that it could have been even heavier. Cooper noted, “It regurgitated several large 6-inch squid while on ice, and it lost some body fluids, too, from gaffing.”
Weight loss from mid-icebox squid puke aside, it was still plenty big enough to secure a spot in the record books, and it might even snag an IGFA world line-class record. Talk about a massive upgrade from fish bait to bragging rights!
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