Chain Pickerel Breaks Lake Seed Record

Zach Chadwick, of Gainesville, with his 3-lb., 5-oz. lake record chain pickerel from Lake Seed caught May 29, 2023.

Zach Chadwick wasn’t sure what had just slammed his black-and-blue worm threaded on a jig head, but he knew it was long and had a mouth full of teeth. Turns out he was hooked up with a chain pickerel, and we was about to set a new record for Lake Seed.

“I’ve never even heard of a pickerel before Monday,” Zach said about his Memorial Day catch. “I was bass fishing with Sea Hound (Joshua Land), a very good friend of mine. We were fishing in water about 13 feet deep in a cove, and he had just caught a bass. Not one cast later the biggest fish of my life hit the line.”

Zach took the fish to the Lake Burton Hatchery and applied for a Georgia WRD Angler Award, which is a great way for an angler to check all the required boxes to get a fish certified as a lake record. On certified scales, his 25 3/4-inch-long chain pickerel weighed 3-lbs., 5-ozs.

“It was my first time ever on Lake Seed,” Zach said.

The previous record for chain pickerel at Lake Seed weighed 2-lbs., 12.64-ozs. and was caught by Jack Becker on Nov. 24, 2020.

Lake Seed Record Fish

See all of GON’s official Georgia Lake & River Records here.

Requirements For Record Fish

• Fish must be caught legally by rod and reel in a manner consistent with state game and fish regulations.

• Catch must be weighed on accurate Georgia DOA certified scales with at least two witnesses present, who must be willing to provide their names and phone numbers so they can be contacted to verify the weighing of the fish.

• 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’s records are compiled and maintained by GON, to be awarded at GON’s discretion. Additional steps may be required for record consideration.