Records are broken all the time. This one was demolished.
Steven Viltoft, of Southport, North Carolina, blew away the state record for the common thresher shark with a 589-pound, 1-ounce fish caught off Oak Island on January 10. The previous record, set in 2005 out of Oregon Inlet, was a mere 185 pounds.
Viltoft was fishing with Oak Island Fishing Charters for blue-fin tuna, using 130-pound line, an 80W Shimano Tiagra reel and a Bazen custom rod.
Capt. Wally Trayah says the crew would have preferred to release the thresher, as they have in the past with similar-size fish. But by the end of the two-hour fight, it was clear the shark was distressed and unlikely to survive. However, thresher sharks make good table fare, so the local folks enjoyed…