The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recently certified a new state record swordfish (Xiphias gladius).
Cary Carney of Newport caught the 504-pound, 8-ounce fish about 55 miles off Morehead City on Aug. 21.
Carney was fishing aboard the Willow B, captained by his son, Brandon Carney. They were fishing in roughly 1,300-foot-deep water when they encountered the “sword of a lifetime,” according to Carney.
Carney’s fish measured 104 inches fork length (from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail) and had a 53-inch girth. It was weighed in at EJW Outdoors of Morehead City.
Carney landed the fish using 65-pound test line, hand cranked on a Diawa MP3000 reel that had a blown fuse. It was paired to a 6-foot Crowder DDS80 rod, and he used albacore belly for bait.
For more information on state record fish, go to the division’s State Saltwater Records webpage or contact the North Carolina Saltwater Fishing Tournament staff at saltwater.citations@ncdenr.gov.
