43-lb. Striper On A Fly Rod!

On Sunday, August 21, Joel Daniel of LaGrange was on Bartletts Ferry with fly-fishing guide Kent Edmonds. The two men headed to the Chattahoochee River to target big striped bass.

The fishing was exceptional over the summer with high water flows coming out of West Point due to unusually heavy rain. Many of the striped bass in Bartletts Ferry had moved out of the lake into the river drawn by the current.

Joel Daniel of LaGrange hoists a 43-lb. Bartletts Ferry striped bass he caught on a fly rod. The fish was released.

Catches of stripers in the 10- to 15-lb. range were common, and good numbers of hybrids in the 3- to 6-lb. range were being caught.

Joel was fishing a 3/0 chartreuse-and-white deceiver — a big saltwater type streamer that imitates a small baitfish — when a monster striper hit.

It took 10 to 15 minutes to play the fish up to the boat, and they had to chase the fish down the river attempting to stay below the fish in the current. Joel was fishing with an eight-weight RPLX rod that was reportedly bowed to the butt.

The fish was weighed in the boat on hand-held scales which indicated 43 pounds. After pictures were taken, the fish was returned to the water.

The weight of Joel’s fish exceeds the current Bartletts Ferry lake record of 36-lbs., 5-ozs., but while it was an outstanding catch, Joel’s fish does not qualify for the record since it was not weighed on certified scales.