MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recently certified a new state record catch.
Christopher Rocci of Morehead City caught the 10-pound, 2.4-ounce Red Hind 45 miles offshore of Beaufort Inlet on July 27. It measured 25.5 inches in total length, from the tip of the snout to the tip of the compressed tail, and had a 20.25-inch girth.
The fish was landed using a Penn Ally II rod with an Okuma SLX-50WII reel with squid and pinfish on an 80-pound braid.
The previous state record Red Hind weighed 9 pounds, 12.1 ounces, and was caught off Wrightsville Beach in 2023.