A 606-pound bluefin tuna, caught on April 6, 2015 by Chase Robinson, of Virginia Beach, has been certified as the new Virginia State Record by the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament.
Robinson’s 606-pound record-setting bluefin tuna measured 113-1/2 inches in total length, 102-1/2 inches straight line fork length and sported an impressive 71-inch girth. The tuna was weighed and registered at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center.
Robinson was fishing aboard the Ate Up skippered by Charles J. Dawson Jr. Robinson hooked the record-setting bluefin nearly 80 miles SSE of Rudee Inlet around the 750-line, in 150 fathoms of water.
The massive tuna was caught using a Shimano Tiagra 80 filled with 80-pound mono. The tuna took a lure/bait combination; a blue and white Islander rigged with a horse ballyhoo rigged on 130-pound fluorocarbon leader.
The previous Virginia state record bluefin, which weighed 573-pounds, was caught off Virginia Beach, by Frederick “Bo” Haycox on June 24, 2007.
source: Virginia Marine Resources Commission