Oconee River Blue Catfish Record One Of 17 Fish In Frigid Temps

Kevin Carey proved the Oconee River blue cats bite in cold temps. This 62-lb., 15.2-oz. fish is the new river record.

Some people luck into record Georgia freshwater fish. Some people deserve it. Kevin Carey, of Glenwood, earned his new river record.

Kevin’s 62-lb., 15.2-oz. blue catfish caught on the Oconee River below Lake Sinclair has been certified by DNR and is now recognized by GON as a new river record. It is quite a story.

“Saturday night was a full moon, so I knew that in this cold the catfish would be biting either at 7 a.m. or about noon when the sun warmed the water. When I got on the water, it was 23 degrees.”

Kevin’s calculations were right. He caught two small blue cats immediately and then caught one that weighed 31 pounds. He was using cut eel and bluegill as bait. He had 12 blue cats by 9 a.m. At 9:30, he switched to bigger pieces of eel and changed locations.

“I anchored down on a ledge in 8 feet of water and was casting in 26 feet of water. There were some good trees on the bottom with some current.

“The first two blue cats I caught were 8 and 13 pounds. Then another rod bent over. The fish headed straight to the middle of the river. He got tangled up in the other lines and was pulling drag on all of them. I knew it was some kind of a fish. The big cat broke one of the lines and buried himself in some trees. I eased up on him with the anchor rope and got on top of him. He came loose and ran again.”

Kevin battled the fish for another four minutes, and he suddenly saw the cat release air bubbles. That was the fish giving up, or so Kevin thought.

“I tried to get the net, but it was frozen to the bottom of the boat. I finally got the net loose, and I could get him up and see his shadow, but every time he saw the net, he’d dive again. I finally got him in the net, but I was too tired to lift him in the boat. I finally lay down and put my back against on side of the boat and my feet on the other side and dragged him over the side.”

After catching his breath, Kevin got out his scales and weighed the fish at 62 pounds. It was a Sunday, so DNR offices were closed, but his brother Eli had a previous record and had the phone number of one of the DNR officers. He gave Kevin the phone number and got WRD Fisheries Technician Jackson Theimer on the phone.

“He said they were closed, and it would be Monday before they could weigh the fish, but I told him I wanted to release the fish alive,” Kevin said. “I told him the fish was going to be a river record, and it was in my livewell with a lot of other fish. I told him I’d wait, but if he looked like it was getting in bad shape, I was going to release him.

“He surprised me and told me not to do that.”

Jackson said he had scales, but they would not weigh a fish that heavy. He said he would have to drive to Cordele to get scales that would weigh a fish that big. Meanwhile, Kevin released the other 16 fish in his livewell to give the big fish its best chance of survival. Kevin and the officer agreed to meet at Glenwood Landing.

“By the time he got back, a big of crowd of my family and friends had gathered,” Kevin said. “When I released the fish, everyone cheered.”

For the record, Kevin used a 7-foot, 6-inch medium-action rod from Mad Cats. It was outfitted with 40-lb. test Slime Line with an 80-lb. leader. He was using a 10/0 hook.

Kevin knows he’ll probably never have such a day of fishing again.

“I had 17 fish before 11 a.m.,” he said. “They included fish weighing 25, 31 and 62 pounds. It was some kind of a day.”

Oconee River Official Records

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Requirements For Record Fish

• Fish must be caught legally by rod and reel in a manner consistent with WRD fish regulations.

• Catch must be weighed on accurate Georgia DOA certified scales with at least two witnesses present.

• Witnesses to the weighing must be at least 18 years old, and they must not be members of the angler’s immediate family nor have a close personal relationship with the angler.

• Catch must be positively identified by qualified DNR personnel. GON can correspond with DNR when high-quality, multiple photos are taken of the fish and emailed to GON. All record submissions and photos must be sent to [email protected].

GON’s records are compiled and maintained by GON, to be awarded at GON’s discretion. Additional steps may be required for record consideration.