UAT

This website is a testing environment only. The contents of this site are not refreshed regularly and should not be relied upon.

For up-to-date information on North Carolina licenses, regulations and other wildlife resources, please visit the agency’s website NCWildlife.org.

N.C. Freshwater Fishing State Records

The N.C Wildlife Resources Commission's Inland Fisheries Division keeps a list of the largest common freshwater fish caught by hook and line in the state's waters. For a list of the largest common saltwater fish, visit the Division of Marine Fisheries (opens new tab). Below is a list of current records and information on how to apply for a new state record.

Apply for a North Carolina State Freshwater Fishing Record

If you catch a trophy fish that doesn't qualify for a state record, your catch can be recognized through the NC Wildlife Resources Commission's North Carolina Angler Recognition Program (NCARP).

Bass

Species & Weight	Location	Date	Bait	Angler	Picture
Striped Bass 66 lbs	Hiwassee Reservoir	3/31/2012	Black Zoom Trick Worm	Tyler Shields	Larger image
Largemouth Bass 15 lbs, 14 oz	Farm Pond Union County	3/29/1991	Crankbait	William H. Wofford	Larger image
Bodie Bass (Hybrid Striped Bass) 17 lbs, 7 oz	Lake Chatuge	3/15/1996	Rebel Jointed Plug	Michael R. Hogsed	Larger image
Roanoke Bass 2 lbs, 11 oz	Nash Cty fishing creek	4/27/1994	Spinner bait	Richard Elijah Evans	Larger image
Rock Bass 1 lb, 14 oz	Deep River Carbonton	4/29/1998	Crappie jig	Robert W. Lytton	Larger image
Smallmouth Bass 10 lbs, 2 oz	Hiwassee Reservoir	6/1/1951	Unknown	Archie Lampkin	No image available
Spotted Bass 6 lbs, 5 oz	Lake Norman	12/26/2003	Zoom Finesse Worm	Eric M. Weir	Larger image
White Bass 5 lbs, 14 oz	Kerr Reservoir	3/15/1986	Bucktail	Jim King	Larger image

Catfish

Species & Weight	Location	Date	Bait	Angler	Picture
Blue Catfish 127 lbs, 1 ounce	Roanoke River	7/10/2021	Gizzard Shad	Rocky Baker	Larger image
Brown Bullhead 4 lbs	Greenfield Lake New Hanover County	3/14/2016	Cut Bait	Mitchell McConnell	Larger image
Channel Catfish 26 lbs.	Neuse River	7/17/2021	Cut Bait	Taner Rudolph	Larger image
Flathead Catfish 78 lbs, 14 oz	Neuse River	07/20/2020	Live sunfish	Tyler Barnes	Larger image
White Catfish 13 lbs	Lake James	05/21/1990	Night Crawler	Jerry Wayne Bentley	Larger image

Perch

Species & Weight	Location	Date	Bait	Angler	Picture
White Perch 2 lbs, 15 oz	Falls of the Neuse Reservoir	12/16/2001	Strata Spoon	Bob G. Williams, Jr.	Larger image
Yellow Perch 2 lbs, 9 oz	Indiantown Creek	02/08/1990	Minnow	Evelyn G. Etheridge	Larger image

Pickerel

Species & Weight	Location	Date	Bait	Angler	Picture
Chain Pickerel 8 lbs	Gaston Reservoir	02/13/1968	Minnow	John H. Leonard	Larger image
Redfin Pickerel 2 lbs, 4 oz	Gallberry Swamp	06/23/1997	Minnow	Edward C. Davis	Larger image

Shad

Species & Weight	Location	Date	Bait	Angler	Picture
American Shad 7 lbs, 15 oz	Tar River	04/10/1974	Shad Dart	R.S. Proctor	Larger image
Hickory Shad 4 lbs, 1 ounce	Pitchkettle Creek	02/24/2004	Spoon	Trey Maroules	Larger image

Sunfish

Species & Weight	Location	Date	Bait	Angler	Picture
Bluegill 4 lbs, 5 oz	Henderson County	7/27/1967	Catalpa worm	Danny Case	Larger image
Green Sunfish 1 lb, 15 oz	Private Pond	7/12/2014	Worm	Victoria Navaroli	Larger image
Flier 1 lb, 5 oz	Private Pond	3/17/1990	Cricket	Douglas N. McCall	Larger image
Pumpkinseed 1 lb, 6 oz	Trent River	05/21/2003	Eel	John Koonce	Larger image
Redbreast 2 lb, 1 ounce	Lumber River	6/10/2019	Cricket	Alphonso Jackson	Larger image
Redear (shellcracker) 4 lbs, 15 oz	Edgecombe County	5/19/2008	Worm	Travis Jackson	Larger image
Spotted Sunfish 7 oz	Big Swamp Robeson County	6/25/2016	Green beetle spin	Elijah Crabtree	Larger image
Warmouth 1 lb, 13 oz	McLeods Pond RIchmond County	5/07/1976	Minnow	Emma Sears	No image available

Trout

Species & Weight	Location	Date	Bait	Angler	Picture
Rainbow Trout 20 lbs, 3 oz	Horsepasture River Jackson County	01/28/2006	Rapala	Leah Johnson	Larger image
Brook Trout 7 lbs, 7 oz	Raven Fork River	05/15/1980	Rooster Tail	G.L. Marshall, Jr.	No image available
Brown Trout 24 lbs, 10 oz.	Nantahala River	04/17/1998	#11 Rapala	Robert Lee Dyer	No image available

Other

Species & Weight	Location	Date	Bait	Angler	Picture
Bowfin 17 lbs, 15 oz	Black River	06/21/1997	Cut bait bream	Gregory A. Demery, Sr.	Larger image
Black Crappie 4 lbs, 15 oz	Asheboro City Lake #4	04/27/1980	Minnow	Dean Dixon	No image available
Carp 48 lbs	Mecklenburg County Pond	03/11/1986	Unknown	William Houston, Jr.	Larger image
Freshwater Drum 23 lbs, 8 oz	Kerr Reservoir	03/20/2013	Plastic fluke	Jonathan Wilkerson	Larger image
Grass Carp 68 lbs, 12 oz	Summerlins Pond Leland	06/08/1998	Rebel Pop R	David W. Stowell	Larger image
Kokanee Salmon 4 lbs, 1 ounce	Nantahala Lake	06/11/2014	Dodgers & Flashers as lures	Jeffrey Todd Smith	Larger image
Longnose Gar 25 lbs	Intracoastal Waterway near Coinjock	01/30/2009	Tube Jig	Kelly Williams	Larger image
Muskellunge 41 lbs, 8 oz	Lake Adger	01/23/2001	Big Mack	Richard W. Dodd	Larger image
Northern Pike 11 lbs, 13 oz	Lake James	08/26/1978	Storm Wiggle Wart	Keith Gilliam	Larger image
Sauger 5 lbs, 15 oz	Lake Norman	07/25/1971	Topwater Rapala	David Shook	Larger image
Smallmouth Buffalo 88 lbs	Lake Wylie	11/14/1993	Pack bait	Tony Crawford	Larger image
Tiger Muskellunge 33 lbs, 8 oz	Lake James	04/03/1988	Buzzbait	Gary Dean Nanney	Larger image
Walleye 13 lbs, 8 oz	Shooting Creek, Lake Chatuge	08/16/1986	Old Faithful Spoon	Lamar L. Cofer	Larger image
White Crappie 3 lbs, 15 oz	Private Lake Wake County	04/01/2013	Storm WildEye Swim Shad Lure	Joey Boretti	Larger image