Altamaha River Record Largemouth Bass

The official record bass from the Altamaha has stood the test of time, but it wasn’t recognized for most that time.

Discovering a bucketmouth from the past is like finding an old Boone & Crockett buck, but it’s much more difficult. An old buck’s rack can be officially measured, but and old fish had to have been certified and verified at the time, which often isn’t the case.

After GON’s Lake and River records were published in the February, 2011 issue, Terry Moore contacted us. He said he had a largemouth bass he caught from the Altamaha River in 1974 that would replace the current river record, which was 10-lbs., 5-ozs.

Terry Moore holds the largemouth bass record for the Altamaha River with a 12-lb. bass he caught on Dec. 18, 1974.

On Dec. 14, 1974 at 4 p.m., Terry caught a 12-lb., 12-oz. largemouth while fishing a 1/2-oz. black-and-yellow Bushwhacker spinnerbait, according to his journal. By the time Terry made it to certified scales, the fish had lost some weight. It weighed 12 pounds even.

Terry provided GON with the necessary paperwork, and the fish is now recognized as the Altamaha River’s new largemouth bass record.