That’s a big fish! A Wayne County man has broken a state fishing record. The North Carolina Wildlife and Resources Commission says Tyler Barnes of Pikeville was fishing on the Neuse River on July 20th when he reeled in a 78-pound, 14-ounce flathead catfish. The flathead cat measured 52-inches in length and 37-inches in girth. Barnes had the fish weighed on certified scales at EZ Bait & Tackle in Goldsboro. Barnes’ catch breaks the previous North Carolina freshwater fish state record for a flathead catfish, which was previously a 78-pound flathead that was caught from the Cape Fear River in 2005.
This is the second record setting catfish caught this month in North Carolina. On July 5th, Joey Baird of Lawrenceville, Virginia, caught a 121-pound, 9-ounce blue catfish from Six Pound Creek at Lake Gaston.
