Fisherman breaks NC record by reeling in 877 pound tuna

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WSET) -- A fisherman broke a North Carolina state record in March when he hauled in a monster catch off the Oregon Inlet.

Retired Army General Scott Chambers, from Delaware, snagged an 877-pound bluefin tuna after fishing for two-and-a-half hours.

The NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources said the giant tuna measured 113 inches curved fork length (tracing the contour of its body from the tip of its nose to the fork in the tail) and had a girth of 79 inches.

Chambers caught the fish using trolling dead bait on 130-pound line test on a 130 Shimano rod and reel aboard a charter boat fishing out of Pirates Cove Marina in Manteo, N.C.

The previous record was an 805-pound bluefin tuna, caught in 2011.

The world record Bluefin tuna was set in 1979 when a fisherman hauled in a gigantic 1,496-pound fish off Nova Scotia.