77-Pound Albacore Caught By Poolesville Man Breaks MD State Record

OCEAN CITY, MD — A Montgomery County resident caught a record-breaking tuna at the end of a slow fishing day in the Atlantic Ocean off of Ocean City, Maryland, according to a Maryland Department of Resources release.

Captain Ryan Knapp and First Mate Josh were aboard the charter Top Dog on Tuesday, preparing to head back to the Sunset Marina, when three different lines went out at the same time.

“It was chaos,” Thomas “Tad” Bodmer of Poolesville said in the release. “I would get my fish close and then it would run back out. It took 25 minutes to get it.”

When Bodmer finally reeled his line in and dragged his fish up onto the deck, he'd discovered he'd caught a 77-pound albacore, or long-fin tuna (Thunnus alalunga).

The crew of the Top Dog knew the fish was a big one, but they weren't sure if it was a record-breaker or not. Bodmer had landed the albacore by trolling a naked ballyhoo bait.

“All these people came out of the woodwork with cameras,” Bodner said. “I was like a deer in headlights.”

Once the Sunset Marina officially certified the albacore's weight, an MDNR biologist confirmed Bodner as the new state record-holder Atlantic Division for albacore.

MDNR maintains a list of state records for sport fish in four divisions — Atlantic, Chesapeake, Nontidal, and Invasive — and presents plaques to record holders.

The previous record-holder for albacore was set in 2004 by Victor W. Gardner, according to MDNR.