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January 10, 2007
Daniel T. Stotts, State Record Drum
NC WRC Photo |
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January 10, 2007
Raleigh, North Carolina – When it comes to catching really
big freshwater drum, Kerr Lake is the place.
The two most recent state records were caught there, and the third
time was the charm for the newest record-holder, Daniel T. Stotts,
of Browns Summit.
On Nov. 27 while fishing for crappie, Stotts landed a 34.5-inch long
freshwater drum that weighed a whopping 22 pounds, 12 ounces. He was
using a minnow on six-pound test line, on a Pflueger rod and reel.
“I had a minor heart attack!” he jokes. “It took 20 minutes to get
the fish to the top of the water, and then I immediately knew what I
had. I’ve caught drum before, usually about 4 to 5 pounds. There’s a
whole lot of difference with 22 pounds. And to get the record, and
by that big of a margin, is pretty cool.”
The previous record was 17.8 pounds, caught by
Paul Riggs, Jr., who
broke his own record of 16 pounds, with both those catches coming in
December 2003.
Corey Oakley, a fisheries biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources
Commission who certified the catch, said the record freshwater drum
now resides at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, a donation from
Stotts.
To qualify for a state record, anglers must have caught their fish
on a hook and line, must have their fish weighed on a certified
scale witnessed by one observer, have the fish positively identified
by a qualified expert from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission
and submit an application with a full, side-view photo of the fish.
Check out the other
North Carolina
Fishing Records |
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