North Carolina State Record Queen Trigger Fish

North Carolina State Record Trigger Fish

Fish Certified by N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries staff and a N.C. Saltwater Fishing Tournament Advisory Board

MOREHEAD CITY – A Piedmont North Carolina man reeled in a state record queen triggerfish during a recent fishing trip off Wrightsville Beach.

William Timothy Cox of Greensboro caught the 10-pound, 5-ounce fish May 22 at Same Ole Hole, located about 40 miles off Wrightsville Beach. The fish measured 30 inches from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail and had a 23-inch girth.

He was fishing on a private vessel and caught the fish using cut bait on 80-pound line test with a Billfisher Rod and Penn 11414 reel.

This establishes a new state record queen triggerfish; no prior state record existed. To establish a new state record, the fish must be within reasonable range of the world record and exceptionally large for North Carolina, as determined by N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries staff and a N.C. Saltwater Fishing Tournament Advisory Board.

The world record queen triggerfish was 14-pounds, 3 ounces, caught off Cancun, Mexico in 2009.