State certifies first state record Pompano Dolphinfish, and it may be a world record

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recently certified the first state record Pompano Dolphinfish (Coryphaena equiselis), and it may break the world record.

Charles Kenneth Noonan of Sumter, S.C. caught the 11-pound, 5.4-ounce fish at an abandoned raft, about 42 miles off Ocean Isle Beach on June 8.

Noonan said he is applying to the International Game Fish Association for certification of the fish as the All Tackle World Record. The current certified world record Pompano Dolphinfish weighed 8-pounds, 8-ounces, and was caught off Maryland in 2008.

Noonan’s fish measured 30.5 inches fork length (from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail) and had a 17.25-inch girth.

He caught it with an Okuma Cedros 7-foot PCH custom rod and Okuma Cedros 8000 reel using dead ballyhoo on 60-pound power pro braid.

He was fishing with Captain Tyler Hailey and First Mate Bailey Auten of Salt Fever Guide Service in Ocean Isle Beach. They were aboard the Glory Daze, a 37-foot Freeman Boatworks Catamaran.

To establish a state record fish, the fish must be weighed in on certified scales at an official North Carolina weigh station, and the angler must submit an application to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries that is then reviewed by staff. The fish must be exceptionally large for North Carolina waters and within a reasonable range of the world record.

For more information on state record fish, go to the division’s State Saltwater Records webpage or contact the North Carolina Saltwater Fishing Tournament staff at saltwater.citations@ncdenr.gov.