A new record catch was reeled in off the shores of Carteret County. The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries announced Monday that it has certified a new state record African pompano. Angler Toby Grantham of Knightdale reeled in the 46-pound fish May 11 while fishing off Atlantic Beach, according to the DMF news release. Grantham’s catch beats the previous state record of a 40-pound, 10-ounce African pompano caught off Southport in 2003, and only misses the world record by a few pounds. A world record African pompano weighing 50 pounds, 8 ounces was caught off Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1990. Grantham’s fish measured 47.5 inches total length from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail and 43.5 inches fork length from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail. Its girth measured 35 inches. He caught the fish using a MC Works 536 HS rod and Shimano Stella 10000 SWB reel with a vertical jig lure on 60-pound test line.
