NC Striper Record Lasts Only 48 Hours

N.C. striper record lasts only 48 hours

By Tom Higgins
Charlotte Observer Special Correspondent

Posted: Saturday, Jan. 08, 2011


Keith Angel of Sandy Ridge with the 64-pound N.C. record striped bass he caught Friday off Oregon Inlet on the Outer Banks. OREGON INLET FISHING CENTER



Stephen Furlough, 12, and skipper/guide Charles Haywood with the 63-pound striper that Furlough boated Wednesday off Oregon Inlet on the Outer Banks. OREGON INLET FISHING CENTER

On Wednesday 12-year-old Stephen Furlough boated a N.C. record striped bass weighing 63 pounds while fishing outside Oregon Inlet.

This fine, fun, feel-good story of a boy and a big fish lasted only 48 hours.
On Friday, Keith Angel pulled a 64-pounder from the same waters.

Furlough, from Roper near the coast in Washington County, was fishing with skipper/guide Charles Haywood aboard his boat, Rigged Up.

Angel, of Sandy Ridge in Stokes County, was in a party trolling with skipper Devin Cage on his sportfisherman, The Poacher.

Both catches were weighed at Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, where certification forms were filled out by the state's Marine Fisheries Division and Wildlife Resources Commission.
Understandably, Furlough and Angel were filled with excitement. Furlough was hoping his catch might be mounted. Angel, however, was anxious to get the record registration process completed so his fish could be dressed into filets.

"I'm taking it home to eat!" said Angel.

Skipper Cage said Angel's record-setter hit a blue-headed lure being trolled on a white parachute rig.

"There was another lure on that rig, and Keith also had a fish hooked on it," said Cage.

"The second fish weighed about 15 pounds, so he was fighting 79 pounds of striper all at the same time.

"He had a pretty stout pull.

"When the big fish showed itself near the surface, my deckhand, Russell Long, yelled to me. Russell said, 'This may be the biggest one we've ever caught!'

"Russell, like me, has been fishing a long time. I knew that he wouldn't exaggerate and that it had to be a special fish. And sure enough..."

Angel's super striper measured 531/4 inches in length and 333/4 inches in girth.

"I thought the fish (Furlough) caught a couple days before might remain the state record for 20 years," Cage said. "Now, after Angel's fish, and seeing how many monster stripers are out there, the 64-pounder might not hold up for a week."

Cage said members of Angel's party kept the limit of two stripers each. "We caught and released probably 50 more, most of them ranging from 30 to 40 pounds," he said.

Limits of very large stripers were reported boated again Saturday off Oregon Inlet before the weather deteriorated, prompting skippers to return to port.

Before Furlough and Angel struck, the N.C. striped bass record was a 62-pounder caught out of Oregon Inlet during 2005 by Dave Hiebert.

The S.C. record is a freshwater striper, a 63-pound fish caught during 2009 at Lake Russell by Terry McConnell.

The world striper mark listed by the International Game Fish Association is 781/2 pounds. Albert McReynolds hit this jackpot at Atlantic City, N.J., during 1982.

Big ass fish!!!!