Bowfin Benchmark Record Set On St. Marys River

A piece of cut bream on the bottom resulted in the new St. Marys River record bowfin for Colt James.

On Feb. 22, Colt James, of Waycross, managed to wrangle in a 6-lb., 7.68-oz. bowfin while fishing with his dad. The fish measured in at an impressive 26 inches long and was good enough to set the benchmark record for the St Marys River. If Colt’s name sounds familiar, it may be because the 12-year-old currently holds multiple GON Lake and River Records on several rivers throughout south Georgia.

Colt was fishing a piece of cut bream on the bottom in about 10 feet of water around 1 p.m. when the big fish decided to latch on.

“Me and Dad caught several redbreast earlier that morning, and a catfish. We were cooking the fish on the sandbar for lunch, and I had a couple of poles set out to try and catch a river record mudfish,” said Colt.

“I saw the line start to thump, and I knew he had picked it up. Since their mouths are so tough, I gave him a few seconds to eat it before I set the hook hard.”

As soon as Colt reeled down and snatched the rod, the fight was on. Colt worked to get the fish away from some submerged timber, and was finally able to get the wildly thrashing fish to the edge of the bank, where his dad was able to coax the bowfin into the net after a few… well make that several failed attempts.

“We had caught a few 5-pounders already that morning, and we knew right away he was bigger, so we weighed him really quick, and the scales said 6.5 pounds,” said Colt.

The fish was later taken to the Waycross Fisheries Office to be certified as the St Marys River Record. Colt’s dad, Craig, had this to say about the fish.

“The GON Lake and River Records are a great resource for anglers. These benchmark records are great opportunities for fishermen, especially young anglers, to get their names in the record books. It’s nice to see Colt and other kids out there competing at something besides a video game. An added plus is that over time as records get set, and then reset, you really start to get an idea of the caliber of fish in a body of water,” said Craig.

With his latest catch added to the record books, the only question left to ask is where will Colt James strike next?

St. Marys Official Records

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.