FISHING – After 36 years, Washington has a new state record black rockfish, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed today.

The fish weighing 10.72 pounds was caught on May 15 by Steven Charles Orr of Rochester, Washington. The fish, measuring 26.15 inches long, was hooked in Marine Area 1 near Ilwaco, Pacific County. Orr said he was bait fishing with herring. 

“I thought I had a ling cod,” Orr said. “It was like fighting a big king salmon, and when I got it up to the boat, it absolutely dwarfed a 6 to 7 pound sea bass we had onboard. It was definitely a fighter.”

The new record exceeded the previous black rockfish record by almost half a pound. That record was held by Joseph Eberling for a fish he caught in the Tacoma Narrows area of Puget Sound in 1980.