The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries has certified two new state records for rarely seen fish species. The records were set by Jody Hopkins and his son, Oden Hopkins, who caught a Channel Scabbardfish (Evoxymetopon taeniatus) and a Spinycheek Scorpionfish (Neomerinthe hemingwayi) while fishing off Ocracoke on July 13, 2025.
Jody Hopkins, from Grimesland, established the record for Channel Scabbardfish after previously setting a state record for Bulleye in June. His son Oden landed the Spinycheek Scorpionfish, marking his own entry into the record books. Both catches are the first recorded state records for these species in North Carolina.
The Channel Scabbardfish caught by Jody weighed 7 pounds, 3.2 ounces and measured 60 inches in length with a girth of 10.25 inches. According to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), the current world record is 9 pounds, 9 ounces, set in the Bahamas in 2023. There have been only a few dozen documented sightings of this species in the Western Atlantic.
Oden’s Spinycheek Scorpionfish weighed 4 pounds, 6.4 ounces and unofficially ties the IGFA world record that was set in Virginia in 2015. The fish measured over 20 inches long with a girth of nearly 14 inches. Officials remind anglers that scorpionfish have venomous spines that can be painful or dangerous if handled improperly.
The father and son were fishing about 33 miles off Ocracoke at depths close to 700 feet using torpedo jigs with Dragon Strike DSC-633 rods and Gomexus SX450L reels equipped with heavy line and leaders. Both fish were weighed at Neuse Sport Shop in Kinston.
After capture, the Channel Scabbardfish was brought to the Division of Marine Fisheries Headquarters in Morehead City for identification by biologists working alongside staff from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science in Raleigh. Genetic samples were collected and photographs taken before donating the specimen to the museum’s permanent collection.
For further details about state fishing records or how to submit entries, information is available on the division’s State Saltwater Records webpage or through contacting tournament staff via email at saltwater.citations@deq.nc.gov.
