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Angler Who Doesn't Eat Fish Breaks State Catfish Record

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Brian Nagele
June 10, 2026

The Best Baits for Grouper Fishing

Whether you’re joining the crew of a commercial fishing trip for the first time or venturing out on your own vessel with friends, grouper fishing is a satisfying, exhilarating way to spend a day.  There are a variety of grouper subspecies throughout the world’s oceans, and grouper can reach a length of ten feet (three meters) and weigh over 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms). But, what kind of bait should you use while targeting this diverse, delicious species? What's the best bait for grouper? If you are wondering which baits are the best for catching grouper, there are a few that

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A few ounces can make history. This week’s fishing stories feature anglers who set new records with catches that exceeded expectations, from a rare grouper off North Carolina to trophy fish in Minnesota and Delaware. Quick decisions, persistence, and a bit of luck helped turn these outings into record-book achievements:

Lucky Pause Helps Angler Land State Record Grouper. An angler’s decision to hold off cleaning a fish led to a record catch in North Carolina. Wyatt Rabon of Leland landed an orange-spotted grouper on May 16 about 45 miles off Southport. While cleaning fish, a friend suggested it might be a Graysby grouper, prompting Rabon to have it weighed instead of filleting it. The 17-inch fish weighed 3 pounds, 8 ounces, breaking the state record by 7 ounces and unofficially tying the International Game Fish Association all-tackle world record. Rabon caught it using live pinfish bait. Read More

Two Massive Catches Shatter Minnesota Fishing Records. Minnesota’s lake trout catch-and-release record has been broken twice this season. The Minnesota DNR confirmed Joe Bouta of Benson landed a 45.5-inch lake trout on Lake Superior in May, surpassing Matthew Hammer’s 44-inch record set weeks earlier. Another record fell when David Selle of Lino Lakes caught a 4-pound, 1-ounce black crappie from Cedar Lake, beating the previous state weight record by one ounce. Read More

Angler Who Doesn't Eat Fish Breaks State Catfish Record. Scott Failor trailered his 16-foot boat from Pennsylvania to Delaware River on June 1 and quickly found success, catching several catfish up to 15 pounds before hooking something much larger around 7 a.m. Fishing a river ledge with cut gizzard shad, he battled the powerful fish using heavy catfish tackle and landed a massive flathead catfish. Suspecting it was special, Failor took the fish to certified scales at Captain Bones in Odessa, Delaware. The flathead weighed 36.2 pounds, measured 41 inches long, and had a 24.75-inch girth, surpassing previous state record of just under 34 pounds. Although he doesn't eat fish, Failor donated the record catch to a local family. Read More

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The Top 30 Trout Streams in North Carolina

North Carolina doesn't get talked about the way Montana or Colorado do, but it should. The western corner of this state holds hundreds of miles of cold, fishable trout water, from roadside delayed-harvest runs packed with stockers to remote backcountry hollows where wild brook trout haven't seen a fly in weeks. Building this list meant reaching out to local guides, tapping our social media followers who fish these waters regularly, and cross-referencing regional fishing reports with people who actually live in these mountains and wade these rivers. I ranked each stream on fishing quality, accessibility, and reputation, and tried to

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