NC certifies mutton snapper state record

Mark Boles caught NC’s first mutton snapper state record

Mark Boles of Dublin, GA caught a 17-pound, 12.8-ounce mutton snapper while fishing offshore of Ocean Isle, NC on June 3, 2025. The North Carolina Dept. of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries established the fish as a new state record.

Before Boles’ catch, North Carolina did not have a state record for the species.

Boles caught the big fish using live menhaden for bait with a Shimano Torium reel paried with a Shimano Trevalla rod and 60-pound test line. He was about 60 miles offshore, fishing with Captain Austin’s Fishing Adventures. They weighed the fish, which was 33 inches total length with a girth of 24.5 inches, at Ocean Isle Fishing Center.