Leland angler’s 3.5-pound offshore catch shatters the 2022 state benchmark and ties the current world record
By BC News Staff Writer
SOUTHPORT, NC — A Brunswick County angler has officially secured his place in the state saltwater fishing history books following the verification of a record-breaking offshore catch.
Wyatt Rabon of Leland recently reeled in a 3-pound, 8-ounce graysby grouper (Cephalopholis cruentata) roughly 45 miles off the coast of Southport.
The catch has been officially certified as the new state record by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries.
Rabon’s catch unseats the previous state record holder, a 3-pound, 0.8-ounce graysby grouper landed in 2022. Additionally, the haul unofficially ties the current International Game Fish Association (IGFA) All-Tackle World Record for the species, which was set in 2023 off Georgetown, South Carolina.
The historic catch occurred on May 16, while Rabon was fishing with his father and a group of friends aboard their personal vessel.
The crew had been targeting standard grouper and triggerfish using a live pinfish setup on a 100-pound test line, paired with a Shimano Trevalla rod and a Shimano Torso 30 reel.
According to state fisheries officials, the history-making fish came incredibly close to the dinner table instead of the record books. The crew reportedly arrived back on land and nearly filleted the grouper for dinner before recognizing it had potential record-breaking dimensions.
Cleaning operations were halted, and the fish was taken to Intracoastal Angler in Wilmington, where it was officially weighed on certified scales. The grouper measured 17 inches in total length from the tip of the snout to the stretched end of the tail, featuring a 13-inch girth.
Graysby grouper is a relatively small species of shallow-water grouper heavily managed by the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council. The native fish are physically distinguished by their rounded tail fins, tan or beige bodies heavily covered in uniform red spots, and nine distinctive dorsal spines.
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