Photo courtesy of Field and Stream Sports Johnny Hauser (L) caught this 11 pound, 5 ounce speckled trout at Cape Lookout on January 22.

Johnny Hauser of Johnny's Goodtime Fishing Charters had a brush with a state record trout when he landed the 11 pound, 5 ounce whopper speckled trout pictured here on the evening of January 22.

Hauser, of Davis, was fishing at the Cape Lookout Jetty when the large trout struck.  He was fishing a MirrOlure S7MR BCH lure.  The trout measured 32 inches long and 17 inches in girth.  It was weighed the next morning at Field and Stream Sports in New Bern. 

Hauser had been enjoying several days of excellent trout fishing but his largest to date had been just heavier than eight pounds.  He had previously caught several large trout in the same evening, but none of this size.

Houser began fishing just before dark on the fateful evening.  He said the large trout hit just as the moon rose.

"While I'm certainly pleased with this fish, I'm far more impressed with the overall quality of the catch," Hauser said.  "I've had several evenings with large fish but on this night the balance of the catch was just as impressive, if not moreso, than that fish.  We caught 17 specks and 10 of them weighed more than 5 pounds."

Hauser's large trout was 15 ounces shy of the state record.  The current N.C. state record for speckled trout is 12 pounds, 4 ounces and has reigned for over 45 years.  It was caught at Wrightsville Beach by John R. Kenyon in 1961.