North Carolina fisherman lands state-record channel catfish

RALEIGH, N.C. (WBTV) – Justin Hall of Reidsville, N.C., has been fishing a local farm pond near his Rockingham County home for years, but he rarely caught channel catfish from it.

That all changed May 21 – and in a big way – when Hall reeled in a 27-pound, 7-ounce channel catfish that broke the previous state record.

Hall’s catch, which was certified by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, topped the previous mark of 26 pounds. That fish was caught in July 2021 in the Neuse River.

Hall’s 13-year-old son caught a channel catfish in May that was estimated at more than 25 pounds. They returned it to the water, unaware of the record.

“I told a friend about my son’s catch, and he told me it might have been big enough to beat the state record,” Hall said in a news release.

A week later, using bread dough as bait, he landed the record-breaker. “My wife went down to the waterline to bring it in with the net – and it bent the net,” Hall said in the release.

The record fish measured 36 ¼ inches long and 24 ⅞ inches in girth.

To qualify for a North Carolina freshwater fish state record, anglers must catch the fish by rod and reel or cane pole. The fish also must be weighed on a scale certified by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and witnessed by at least one person. It must be identified by a fisheries biologist from the commission, and the fisherman must submit an application with a full, sideview photo of the fish for record certification.

For a list of freshwater fish state records in North Carolina or more information about the State Record Fish Program, visit the commission’s State Record Fish program webpage.

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