What a beast! Greenville, North Carolina’s Jeremiah Elliott is set to hold two impressive records after landing this enormous big-scale pomfret.
Elliott reeled in his 26-pound, 11.4-ounce whopper around 50 miles due east of Morehead City on Apr. 21, 2023. The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries has since certified his catch as the new state record.
The division notes that there was no previous state record for the species. But that’s of little concern to Elliott, as he’s just smashed the world record for this Atlantic fish by over 6 pounds.
The current IGFA World Record sits at 20 pounds, 10 ounces and was caught in St. Augustine, Florida in 2004. That record belongs to W. Gordon Davis, but Elliott is motivated by his 2023 trophy and has applied for the new IGFA World Record.
The Stats: Jeremiah Elliott’s record big-scale
| Big-Scale Pomfret Record/Angler, (Year) | Weight | Location |
| North Carolina State Record/Pending IGFA World Record, Elliott (2023) | 26 lbs., 11.4 oz. | NC |
| Standing IGFA World Record, Davis (2004) | 20 lbs., 10 oz. | FL |
“Jeremiah, with his 26 pound 11.4 ounces Bigscale Pomfret! The fish was landed on April 21 and certified as an official new state record on April 28. Jeremiah plans to also pursues a new International Game Fish Association World Record.”
NC Division of Marine Fisheries
Just as impressively, Elliot’s fish measures 35.5 inches fork length (that’s from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail). As for girth, the pomfret holds an impressive 30.75-inch body.
“Elliott was accompanied by his friends Chandler, Trevor, and Zac at the time of the catch. He landed the fish using squid, and 80-pound test on a Alutecnos Albacore 80 reel paired with a RJ Boyle Swordfish rod,” the state notes in their press release.
The Tricky Big-Scale Pomfret
The big-scale pomfret (Taractichthys longipinnis) is an oceanic species that can live at incredible depths in the Atlantic. Catches of Elliott’s size are truly rare, as is seeing this fish in general.
Typically, the species prefers the warm waters of the southern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. But as another state record from 2020 shows, they occasionally swim north.
That year, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources would recognize Jeff Rosenkilde of Monkton as holding the first official state record for big-scale pomfret. Rosenkilde angled in a 22.1-pound beast himself on Dec. 28.
By the table above, it’s clear he could’ve beaten the IGFA World Record, too. But in the last two years, that has not come to be. Hopefully, Jeremiah Elliott’s NC record holds firm and meets all criteria to claim the world record.
For more Trophy Tuesday action, see this world-record lake trout caught by Colorado father & son.
