Juveniles use nearly state record fish as bait

Most fishermen dream of landing a state-record fish. Cooper Clarke almost killed him for the bait. 19-year-old Ocean City angler has been certified Maryland Department of Natural Resources As the new state record holder for false albacore in the Atlantic Division after catching a fish weighing 28.2 pounds on July 3. This catch broke the previous record of 26 pounds, set just a year earlier.

Clark landed the fish while trolling for bluefin tuna at the “Jackspot”, a popular offshore fishing area located 20 to 30 nautical miles from Ocean City near the 20-fathom line. Fishing with the family on my uncle’s boat, Baby girlThe group was pulling skirted ballyhoo when Clark hooked what everyone thought was a small bluefin tuna. It was not.

The fish turned out to be false albacore, also known as little tunny, a species common along the mid-Atlantic coast during the summer. Although they are renowned for their fast running and incredible fighting ability, they are not highly valued as table fare. Their black meat is rarely eaten and many offshore fishermen use them only for bait. That’s exactly what Clark’s team wanted to do.

Thinking it was nothing more than an average false albacore, they threw the fish in a cooler with plans to harvest it later. It wasn’t until the next day that someone took a closer look and realized that the fish looked unusually large. Instead of becoming bait, it was taken to Sunset Marina where it was weighed on a certified scale and verified by Maryland DNR fisheries biologist Gary Tyler. The official weight of 28.2 pounds gave Clark a new Maryland state record.

This catch continues an unusual trend for the species in Maryland. Before 2025, the false albacore record had stood for three decades. It has now been breached three times in about a year, suggesting fishermen may encounter bigger fish in the state’s Atlantic waters.

Clark, who attends Salisbury University and works for his uncle’s construction business, has spent his entire life fishing around Ocean City. The July 3 trip was the fourth offshore outing of the season for him and his family.

False albacore are members of the mackerel family rather than true tuna, although they are often mistaken for smaller tuna due to their appearance and speed. They regularly move to Ocean City waters each summer, where they provide fast-paced action to fishermen targeting them with light tackle.

In Clark’s case, a fish that almost became bait won him a place in Maryland fishing history.

keith lusher

Keith Lusher is an award-winning outdoor journalist who lives in Covington, Louisiana. He owns and operates NorthShoreFishingReport.com and writes a weekly outdoors column for the Slidell Independent Newspaper. He also writes for the St. Tammany Parish Tourism Commission’s VisitTheNorthshree.com. He is the former host of The Northshore Fishing Report radio show and is on the board of the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association. Keith contributes to numerous publications both online and in print and is proud to promote the unique fisheries of South Louisiana. To contact Keith email: keithlusherjr@gmail.com