Mississippi angler sets state conventional-tackle yellowfin tuna record at 237 pounds

A 237-pound, 12.8-ounce yellowfin tuna from Josh Lord of Ocean Springs is now Mississippi’s conventional-tackle state record, a fish heavy enough to turn a dockside brag into an official benchmark for Gulf anglers chasing giants.

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources certified the catch as one of three state saltwater records for April 2026, giving Lord’s tuna a place alongside Matthew Mitchell’s common snook from Gulfport at 5 pounds, 6.4 ounces and 11-year-old George Bamban’s youth African pompano from Biloxi at 35 pounds, 10.4 ounces. The yellowfin was the headline fish in the group, not just because of its size, but because it landed in a category that matters to a broad offshore crowd: conventional tackle.

That distinction gives the record real weight in the recreational tuna world. Mississippi’s saltwater records system is broken out by divisions such as all-tackle, conventional tackle and fly fishing, so Lord’s fish was not simply a large tuna by local standards. It was a documented, category-specific achievement that had to be measured, verified and formally certified before it could become part of the state record book.

The new mark topped the previous Mississippi yellowfin record by 1 pound, 3.2 ounces. Michael McElroy III of Hattiesburg had held the standard at 236 pounds, 9.6 ounces since April 2020, and before that Robert Landingham’s 205-pound, 12.8-ounce fish had stood since June 9, 2001. In other words, the state’s yellowfin line has moved only a handful of times over more than two decades, which is exactly why Lord’s tuna stands out.

For Mississippi anglers, that history matters. A fish that clears 237 pounds does more than add a name to a record list. It shows that the Mississippi Gulf Coast can still produce the kind of offshore tuna that usually anchors stories from farther-flung bluewater ports. The certified fish gives local crews a hard number to measure against, and it keeps the state’s conventional-tackle category relevant to anyone rigging for big tuna out of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The April 24, 2026 certification also underscored the range of catches Mississippi saltwater anglers are turning in this spring, from nearshore game fish to youth records to offshore giants. Lord’s yellowfin was the one that changed the conversation, though, because it reset the state’s true-trophy standard and reminded anglers that the Gulf can still produce record-class tuna when everything lines up.