A local Virginia Beach angler Mike Rogerson has just reeled in a massive 835.8-pound bluefin tuna that is poised to obliterate the current state record—by over 130 pounds!
This epic catch happened on Saturday, January 10, while fishing in dense fog off the Smith Island Flats near the Eastern Shore. Rogerson was aboard the 58-foot charter boat High Hopes, captained by David Wright and operating out of Rudee Inlet at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center. At just 23 years old and relatively new to this level of big-game fishing, with only one prior charter trip in Cabo under his belt, Rogerson stepped up for what turned into a 90-minute adrenaline-fueled battle!
The tuna measured an impressive 108 inches long and tipped the scales at 835.8 pounds—dwarfing the existing Virginia state record of 708 pounds, set by Jake Hiles back in February 2020. Before that, the mark stood at 606 pounds from 2007. Certification through the Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament is expected soon (likely just a formality in about a week), and it will officially make this the new benchmark for bluefin in the state…