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April 14, 2009
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Ronnie Emory, Jr., reeled in this 3-pound,
8-ounce white crappie, the newest freshwater fishing state
record, with a Garland mini-jig. |
Raleigh, N.C. — March 30 is a day that Franklinton angler
Ronnie Emory, Jr., won’t soon forget. In just a few hours after
launching his boat in a private pond in Granville County, he and a
fishing buddy, Jeff Williams, reeled in 43 white crappie, one of
which is now a new North Carolina freshwater fishing state record.
Emory, 25, caught the 3-pound, 8-ounce record-breaker, which
measured 20 inches in length and 14 ˝ inches in girth, using a
Garland mini-jig on a Quantum rod and reel combo.
“I’ve been fishing that pond since I was 10 years old, and I’ve
caught some big crappie out there, although nothing that size
before,” Emory said. “I knew that it was big but I didn’t know it
was the state record until I went online and saw what the current
state record was, and thought, ‘Mine’s bigger than that.’”
Emory’s white crappie catch surpassed the last state record by 1/4
pound. James G. (Greg) Brown caught a 3-pound, 4-ounce fish on March
5, 2008, from a pond at the Waverly Swim Club in Charlotte.
Emory’s crappie was weighed on certified scales at Gooch’s Grocery
in Franklinton. The state record crappie was examined and certified
by Corey Oakley, District 5 fisheries biologist with the N.C.
Wildlife Resources Commission.
To qualify for the state record, anglers must have caught the fish
by rod and reel or cane pole, have the fish weighed on a scale
certified by the N.C. Department of Agriculture, witnessed by one
observer, have the fish identified by a fisheries biologist from the
Commission and submit an application with a full, side-view photo of
the fish. Check out the other
North Carolina
Fishing Records |
