The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries has certified a new state record for red hind.
Matthew Parr of Wilmington caught the 7-pound and 1.6-ounce fish on Oct. 1 off Cape Lookout. The fish measured 21.5 inches total length (tip of the nose to tip of the tail) and had a 17.5-inch girth.
Parr caught the fish using cut bait on 80-pound line test with a 5-foot, 6-inch Star Aerial Heavy Action Jigging Rod and a Penn 113 N Senator Reel. He was fishing with Capt. Charles Stewart Merritt of Salt Air Ventures.
Previously, North Carolina did not list a state record red hind but created the category after Parr applied for the state record. The Division of Marine Fisheries creates new state record categories for fish that are exceptionally large for North Carolina.
The red hind (Epinephelus guttatus), is also known as the koon or lucky grouper in Caribbean vernacular.
The IGFA all-tackle record is 9 pounds, caught of St. Mary, Georgia, in 2019.