Cooper Clark, a 19-year-old student at Salisbury University, was trolling for bluefin tuna about 20 miles off Ocean City, Maryland on July 3, when he hooked what he at first thought was a small bluefin. When the catch was identified as a large false albacore instead, the disappointed crew tossed it into the cooler to eventually use for bait.
A day later, it occurred to Clark that the fish might contend with the state record albie, a 26-pounder caught on July 20, 2025. That fish knocked out a 23.5-pounder caught just eight days earlier. When Clark weighed the fish on July 4, it registered at 28.2 pounds, and was verified by a Maryland Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist.
Two of those three records came from the “Jackspot” a popular location near the 20-fathom line off Ocean City, and all three were incidental catches by anglers targeting bigger game. Perhaps there’s a trophy midsummer albie fishery waiting to be unlocked by some enterprising light-tackle captain out of OCMD, or perhaps, anyone running more than 20 miles offshore is content targeting tuna instead, and using the occasional albie bycatch as bait.
