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.
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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.