The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Division of Marine Fisheries recently established a new state record for Bulleye (Cookeolus japonicus).
Jody Hopkins of Grimesland caught the 5-pound, 10.88-ounce fish off Ocracoke on June 21, 2025. There were no previous state records for this species. The International Game Fish Association World Record was caught off Japan in 2023 and weighed 7-pounds, 14-ounces.
Hopkins was fishing 30 miles off Ocracoke in 200 feet of water when the fish took his squid. Hopkins made quick work bringing the fish to the boat in a few minutes using a Billfisher SS02040C rod and a Fin-Nor Marquesa MA30TP reel with 40-pound line. At first Hopkins believed the fish was a Bigeye, but he later donated the fish to NCDMF for identification.
NCDMF donated the fish to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences specimen collection.
Hopkin’s fish measured 20.5 inches fork length (from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail) and had a 16-inch girth. The fish was weighed in at Neuse Sport Shop in Kinston.
For more information on state record fish, go to the division’s State Saltwater Records webpage or contact the North Carolina Saltwater Fishing Tournament staff at saltwater.citations@deq.nc.gov.
Go to the NCDMF Facebook Page to learn how to identify a Bulleye.