State Fishing Record Broken By 72.8-Pound Mahi Mahi

OCEAN CITY, MD — A Maryland man has broken a 34-year-old state fishing record in the Atlantic Division for a common dolphinfish, better known as a mahi mahi. Jeff Wright of Cambridge caught the 72.8-pound fish July 28 off the coast of Ocean City.

Wright was fishing on a boat above Poor Man's Canyon, practicing for the upcoming White Marlin Open when he said his rod "went crazy" shortly after noon. He told the Maryland DNR that it took him 25 minutes to reel the fish in.

"I had to play it until it finally gave up," he said.

Wright’s catch beat the existing record held by Kim Lawson, who reeled in a 67.8-pound common dolphinfish in July 1985.

“It’s really exciting to see anglers like Wright break records that have been on the books for decades,” Maryland DNR recreational fishing outreach coordinator Erik Zlokovitz said in a press release. “It just shows that with a little patience you could find yourself a part of Maryland’s angling history.”

The department maintains state records for sport fish in four divisions – Atlantic, Chesapeake, Nontidal and Invasive – and awards plaques to anglers who achieve record catches.