Savannah River Bluegill Benchmark Record Bumps Up

Dustin Burton, of Newington, with his 1-lb., 3.2-oz. Savannah River bluegill.

An angler went through the certification process and bumped up the benchmark record for Savannah River bluegill. Dustin Burton, of Newington, caught a big bluegill while fishing with a cricket during a May 9, 2025 trip on the Savannah River. Dustin took the bream to the Evans County Public Fishing Area, where WRD Fisheries staff verified the species and weighed it on certified scales. The certified weight of 1.20-lbs. (1-lb.s, 3.2-ozs.) topped the previous Savannah River bluegill mark by more than 2 ounces.

“I’ve seen pound and three-quarter bluegill caught, but I guess they don’t know about the river records,” Dustin said. “Everyone just thinks about the state records.”

We’re glad Dustin thought about the Lake & River Records and went through the certification process.

Savannah River Record Fish

Dustin’s Savannah River bluegill was 10 1/2 inches long.

Catch A Lake or River Record? 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.

Benchmark Records

GON’s first publishing of “Lake Records” was released on March 1, 1990. That first publishing included record fish for 18 public reservoirs. Today, GON keeps records on more than 50 different lakes, rivers and particular sections of rivers. Benchmark records were begun as an effort to establish records for species of fish not yet listed on some bodies of water. Once benchmark records are publicized, it doesn’t take long for larger fish to overtake those records, and over time the records become credible.

The benchmark system used by GON for all bodies of water and all new fish species will be the minimum weights (not lengths) established in WRD’s Georgia Angler Award Youth Program.

GON chose the WRD Youth minimum weights to encourage anglers to fill in gaps with no listings on our Lake & River Records charts.