Angler catches fish she’s never seen before. It may be a world record, OR officials say
A woman set out to catch rockfish for dinner one night off the Oregon coastline.
She ended up reeling in a fish she’s never seen before that may be a world record, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said in an April 5 news release.
Rebecca Jones went fishing on April 1 off the Barview Jetty near Garibaldi, wildlife officials said.
Jones said she kept losing the bait off her line, but after an hour of fishing, she felt something bite, wildlife officials said.
“It wasn’t a hard fight, the fish came right up,” Jones told the wildlife agency. “But it was a very strong fish though, I had to sit on it to get the hook out.”
She had reeled in a monkeyface prickleback, an eel-like fish with a round snout and large lips, officials said. They are found along rocky shorelines and can survive out of water for 35 hours.
It was the first time she had seen the fish, but she told officials she knew it was a “keeper” once she weighed and measured it.
The monkeyface prickleback weighed 4.8 pounds and measured 28 inches long, officials said.
The fish holding the current world record weighed 3 pounds, 4 ounces, according to the International Game Fish Association. Todd Pietsch caught it June 29, 2008, from the Yaquina Bay in Newport.
Now Jones has to submit a world record application.
She also wants to encourage other women to fish and hunt.
“Taking advantage of the opportunities Oregon offers gives you self-confidence and self-efficiency,” she told wildlife officials.
This story was originally published April 5, 2024 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Angler catches fish she’s never seen before. It may be a world record, OR officials say."
