Canoochee Record Bluegill, A Once-In-A-Lifetime Fish

On April 22, Stephen Lewis managed to hook into and land what is now the new Canoochee river record bluegill.

“I knocked off work around 2:30 or so and headed to the river with my brother, Petey Lewis. We got to the Richmond Hill section of the river around 3 and started fishing,” said Stephen.

Stephen was fishing out of his one-man creek boat, and Petey was fishing a bend or so behind him in his own rig.

“We were catching them good, Petey was throwing a little spinnerbait and I was throwing a Swamp Spider. The oak worms were dropping from the trees everywhere that afternoon, and the fish were crushing them,” said Stephen.

By 5:30 that afternoon, the pair of anglers had already hooked into nearly a hundred or so fish, when Stephen briefly looked away from his topwater bug for a moment.

“I heard the fish hit, and the way he took off so fast and was fighting, I just knew it had to be a bass,” said Stephen.

After a tense game of tug of war, Stephen was finally able to get the big fish next to the boat.

“That’s when I realized it wasn’t a bass, it was the biggest bluegill I’ve ever seen in the river,” said Stephen.

After boating the fish, Stephen used hand-held scales to weigh the behemoth bluegill, and they had it pegged at 1.25 pounds. Stephen opted to ice the fish down to be weighed the following morning at the Evans County PFA.

“I couldn’t take him that morning  because I was working, but they let my buddy bring the fish to be certified,” said Stephen.

The bluegill managed to push the scales down to an impressive 1-lb., 3.2-ozs.

Stephen was asked if he thought there were more record-class fish swimming in the Canoochee.

“They’re definitely in there, but they are hard to find. I’ve been fishing the Canoochee my whole life, and I’ve never managed to catch one like this, said Stephen.

Canoochee River Record Fish

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.