A striper trip turned into a catfishing trip to remember for John Davinson of Clayton.

The angler caught a state-record 16-pound channel catfish on April 19 while fishing for striped bass on the Roanoke River.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission announced the catch as a record on Tuesday.

Davinson caught his record-breaker using a Shimano rod and reel combo and a golden shiner minnow. The fish measured 32 1/2 in length and 19 1/2 inches in girth.

It took Davinson about 15 minutes to land the catfish. He cited the fish's size and the speed of the current as factors.

"We were fishing for stripers and got lucky," said Davinson, 37, who was fishing with brothers Greg and David Griffin of Holly Springs. "If the water hadn't been so high, I don't think I'd have caught it."

Davinson said he believes that high water washes food into rivers and stimulates catfish feeding.

The fish was weighed on certified scales at Atlas Fish Market in Roanoke Rapids and was verified as a state record by Kirk Rundle, a commission fishery biologist.

"We probably spent $20 or $30 on gas trying to find certified scales," said Davinson, a roofing project manager. "We finally called Colston's Tackle, and they turned us on to the Atlas Fish Market."

Davinson was fishing in Greg Griffin's 25-foot Carolina Skiff when he caught the fish. He met Griffin through posting on a catfishing Web site, www.brotherhood-of-catfishermen.com.

The state record for channel catfish was vacated in May 2005 after a photograph of Maryville, Tenn., angler Pete Paine's 1971 catch appeared in "Wildlife in North Carolina" magazine. The image showed the fish to be a flathead catfish.

For a fish to qualify for a state record, the commission said in a news release, the angler must catch the fish on a hook and line; must have the fish weighed on a certified scale witnessed by one observer; must have the fish positively identified by a commission expert; and must submit an application with a photo of the fish.

A list of the state's freshwater fishing records can be found online at www.ncwildlife.org.