A 20.6-pound blueline tilefish caught on Aug. 24 is the new Maryland state record. Caught by London J. Anthony, of Pasadena, Maryland, the big blueline was less than 3 pounds off the current IGFA all-tackle world record.
Anthony was deep-dropping with conventional hand-crank gear and a chunk of cut ballyhoo at Poorman’s Canyon off Ocean City.
Reeling in the Record Tilefish
“We had a long morning trolling with no bites,” Anthony said. “Later in the day, Capt. Chris Little of Talking Trash Charters pulled a rabbit out of his hat and put us all on a pile of tilefish … My fish was landed with another fish 24 inches long — a double header! I felt like I was reeling in three cinder blocks.”
The fish was weighed on a certified scale at Crabs to Go in Berlin, and the species was verified by Maryland DNR officials. Anthony’s catch broke the previous record of 20 pounds, caught by Robert Purcell in 2012, at Norfolk Canyon. The IGFA all-tackle world record weighed 23 pounds, 4 ounces. It was caught off New Jersey by Mark Milici in 2015.
