GA fisherman reels in new freshwater fish state record

BULLOCH COUNTY, Ga. — A new Georgia fishing record was set last week for the state’s freshwater fish.

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The Georgia DNR announced this week that angler Jamie Boyett, of Portal, GA was fishing in Ogeechee River on June 15, when he caught a record-breaking Spotted sunfish.

According to the DNR, Boyett’s catch was 12 ounces (9-inches). The previous state record was 11 ounces caught in 2019.

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“I was fishing for redbreast sunfish with my 8-year-old son Brannen on one of our regular locations on the Ogeechee, and when I caught this fish, I honestly wasn’t 100% sure what it was. A friend said it looked like a stumpknocker, which made me laugh because it was the biggest one I had ever seen,” Boyett told Georgia DNR. “After we got home from fishing, I started cleaning our catch, and something made me decide to just look into confirming the species, and I sure am glad I did!”

The DNR said spotted sunfish are nicknamed ‘stompknocker’ because they display strongly to stumps when they find food. They are found all over Georgia. When fishing for them, the DNR recommends using worms, crickets, small spinners, flies and popping bugs.

“We aren’t quite halfway through the year, and we already have two new state records, and one tied record for freshwater fish so far in 2024,” Scott Robinson, Chief of Fisheries for the Wildlife Resources Division said.

For more information about state-record fish, including an application and rules, click here.

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