A Wilmington man has landed a new state record yellowfin grouper, or Mycteroperca venenosa.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries recently confirmed that John Theodorakis of Wilmington caught the 45-pound, 9.6-ounce fish on July 2.
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Theodorakis broke the previous state record held by Michael Hall, whose yellowfin grouper landed in 2009 weighed 42 pounds, 10 ounces.
Theodorakis was fishing approximately 45 miles offshore of Carolina Beach aboard the vessel Clearly Hooked when he landed the fish. He used menhaden for bait on 80-pound test line, with a Crowder rod and Shimano Tiagra reel. The fish measured just over 43 inches total length (from the tip of the nose to the stretched end of the tail) and had a girth of 31 inches, according to the division.
The fish was brought to Island Tackle in Carolina Beach before it was weighed and confirmed by division staff at DEQ’s Wilmington Regional Office.
Yellowfin grouper is a species of shallow-water grouper managed by the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council. Yellowfin can be identified from similar grouper species by the yellow edge around the pectoral fin and dorsal spines, its square tail and often red color when first landed.
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@deq.nc.gov.
