Massive catch is ‘fish of a lifetime’ for NC charter boat. See the ‘dream come true’
A fisherman made a “once in a lifetime” catch — to the delight of a North Carolina charter boat captain.
“I have tried many years to find a fish of a lifetime and yesterday it happened,” a captain for AWOL Fishing Charters wrote Jan. 29 on Facebook. “So happy to be able to let others enjoy my passion.”
A video shared online shows someone on the boat caught a massive blue catfish weighing 100 pounds. It happened on the Cape Fear River, which flows through central and eastern parts of the state.
“What an absolute dream come true,” the Fayetteville-based fishing charter wrote. “I am beyond excited to say that this is the biggest ever recorded catfish caught on the Cape Fear River in North Carolina.”
There’s data to back up that claim. Before this, the largest blue catfish ever caught in the river was 80 pounds, according to entries submitted to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission since 1997.
The 80-pound fish was caught in 1999, making AWOL’s catch far surpass the size of others reported on the river in recent decades.
“We’ve never seen one like this,” Ben Ricks, coastal region supervisor for the wildlife commission’s Inland Fisheries Division, told McClatchy News in a Feb. 13 email.
Was the fish a state record?
North Carolina wildlife records show AWOL’s blue catfish fell a few pounds short of being the largest of its species caught in the state, however. That title went to a whopping 127-pound fish snagged on the Roanoke River in 2021.
For the more recent catch, video shows someone from the fishing charter hauling the massive fish to a scale. Later, the creature was released back into the water.
“So humbled by this,” the business wrote in a separate Facebook post.
The fish was caught using a rod and shad bait, Capt. Craig Hensel, owner of the charter company, told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
This story was originally published February 14, 2025 at 3:24 PM.
