Father and son set records catching rare fish off NC’s Outer Banks, state says

A father and son beat astronomical odds when they caught rarely encountered fish on the same day, both setting state records, according to North Carolina officials.

Jody Hopkins and his son Oden Hopkins made the record-setting catches on July 13 as they were fishing in the Atlantic Ocean off the Outer Banks, the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries reported in a July 30 news release.

“Jody Hopkins of Grimesland has had a great year, landing his second state-record fish. Hopkins first established a state record for Bulleye in June and has now established a record for Channel Scabbardfish,” the division said.

“Oden Hopkins is not far behind, following in his dad’s footsteps and landing his own record-setting Spinycheek Scorpionfish.”

There was no previous state record for either species, in part because they are rarely encountered.

In the case of Channel Scabbards, which resemble silvery swords, experts aren’t even yet sure how big they can get, according to FishBase.

“The Channel Scabbardfish, landed by Jody Hopkins, weighed 7 pounds, 3.2 ounces, measured 60 inches total length (from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail), and had a 10.25-inch girth,” the state says.

“The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) current World Record is 9 pounds, 9 ounces and was landed in the Bahamas in 2023. This is one of only a few dozen recorded observations of this species in the Western Atlantic.”

Oden Hopkins’ catch was a 20.63-inch Spinycheek Scorpionfish, which weighed 4 pounds, 6.4 ounces, officials said. It “unofficially” ties the International Game Fish Association’s world record, which was caught off the Virginia coast in 2015, the state said.

Scorpionfish have spines that are venomous, which can result in “painful and dangerous” stings to anglers, the state noted. “Anglers should handle any species of scorpionfish with care,” officials said.

The duo was jigging 33 miles off Ocracoke in nearly 700 feet of water when they made their catches, state officials said. Both were “using a torpedo jig, a Dragon Strike DSC-633 rod and a Gomexus SX450L reel with 30-pound line and a 50-pound leader,” officials said.

“The Channel Scabbardfish was later taken to the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries Headquarters in Morehead City for identification,” the division said.

“Biologists, in collaboration with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science in Raleigh, were able to identify, photograph, and take genetic samples from the fish, which will be donated to the museum’s permanent specimen collection.”

Ocracoke is about a 200-mile drive southeast from Raleigh.

This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 9:06 AM with the headline "Father and son set records catching rare fish off NC’s Outer Banks, state says."