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January, 2004
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Eric Weir's State Record Spotted Bass
NC WRC Photo |
Raleigh, N.C. – Professional bass angler and guide, Eric M. Weir,
now has one more fishing trophy to hang on his wall after landing
the new spotted bass state record on Dec. 26, 2003. The Belmont
angler reeled in his 6.5-pound, 22 ¼-inch long, record spot from
Ramsey Creek on Lake Norman using a chartreuse pumpkin Zoom Finesse
worm as bait.
The fish was weighed on certified scales at Jones Brothers
Supermarket in Mount Holly and was verified by Lawrence Dorsey, a
fishery biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
Weir, who has been bass fishing for more than 30 years and now runs
a fishing guide service on Lake Norman and Lake Wylie, knows that
most spotted bass are aggressive fighters when hooked. However, his
latest and greatest catch proved to be the exception to that rule.
“We were fishing off a little point in about 13-and-a-half foot of
water when I caught the big one,” Weir recalled. “I thought it was a
catfish at first because it stayed down. My buddy hollered to me
from the back of the boat that it was either a carp or a state
record spot. He was joking, but it turned out to be true.”
Smaller than its popular cousins, the largemouth and smallmouth
bass, a three- to four-pound spot is considered a nice catch by most
anglers while a 6.5 pounder is almost unheard of. In fact, the
previous North Carolina state record spotted bass, weighing 5.15
pounds, was caught more than a decade ago from Lake Chatuge by Kent
Moffitt.
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 Commission and submit an application
with a full, side-view photo of the fish.
Check out the other
North Carolina
Fishing Records |
