Satilla River Black Crappie Record Comes On Minnow

Chas Strickland, of Nahunta, with the new Satilla River black crappie record. The 2-lb., 2.88-oz. slab ate a live minnow.

On Jan. 19, Chas Strickland, of Nahunta, decided to make a late-afternoon trip to the Brantley County section of the Satilla River, despite less than optimal conditions.

“The river was running high, and the temperature was dropping fast, but me and my buddy Caleb Sarrows grabbed some minnows and decided to go see if we could get them to bite,” said Chas.

The anglers made a quick run upriver from the ramp, targeting lakes and other areas of slack water as they went. After working their way up for an hour so, the anglers made a quick run back downriver past where they put in.

“We were catching fish anywhere we could get out of the current. It was getting close to dark, and we’d already caught several good specks, 10 or so bass up to about 2 pounds and a jackfish. They were biting, but with the sun going down it was getting cold in a hurry,” said Chas.

Almost to the ramp, Chas and Caleb decided to try one more spot before retreating to the warm heater of the truck waiting at the boat ramp.

“I threw my minnow in there, and it just started to slowly disappear. I set the hook, and I knew by the way he was fighting it had to be a good speck,” said Chas.

After the struggle, Chas dropped the large fish in the livewell, and over the course of the next 15 minutes, the anglers managed to catch a few more big crappie out of the same hole.

“It was all but dark when we headed to the truck. When we got up there and got to loading up, Caleb asked me what the GON record was for the river. When I looked it up and told him it was two pounds and one ounce, he said that things got to be all over 2 pounds, so we decided to take it to get weighed on certified scales at a nearby grocery store,” said Chas.

When dropped on official scales at Satilla Grocery in Atkinson, the fish weighed in at 2-lbs., 2.88-ozs., beating the old record of 2-lbs., 1-oz., earning Chas a place in the GON records. When asked if he felt the record would be beat anytime soon, Chas had this to say.

“Absolutely. There’s some big ones in there, and I believe people have caught bigger but just haven’t got them officially certified. It’s a matter of time before someone weighs in a sure enough big one.”

Satilla 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.