Nags Head NC, Dec 30 2005 - North Carolina has a new listing for striped bass among the state's saltwater fishing records -- a striper weighing 62 pounds.

The fish was caught on Dec. 30 just off the beach at Avon on Hatteras Island by David Hiebert of Kalamazoo, Mich.

Hiebert was fishing from the Triple Crown, a 26-foot Mako owned and skippered by his longtime friend, David Branson of Apex.

The catch, which measured 531/2 inches in length and 32 in girth, tops the previous striper record of 60 pounds set in 1972 by Catherine Willis while fishing in the Hatteras Island surf.

Also along were Branson’s son Joshua and nephew Kilian Branson, both 13. They were fishing out of Oregon Inlet.