Record Tilefish Caught Off Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, Md. - A 62-pound golden tilefish that might be a Maryland record nearly jerked an angler out of his boat when the fish bit.

Steve Doctor says he was fishing about 60 miles off the coast of his hometown, Ocean City, near the Baltimore Canyon. After a day of fishing, boat captain Chris Mizurak suggested fishing at 80 to 100 feet to see what they could catch.

Tilefish live in holes on the seafloor, and when the fish bit Thursday, Doctor says he had to pull the fish up quickly so it didn't go back in. He says the 62-pounder nearly pulled him off the boat and it took 20 minutes for him to reel it in.

He'd been fishing for three days aboard The Angler when he made the catch, his first tilefish and if the state approves it, his first record-setter.

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Information from: The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times, http://www.delmarvanow.com/