Crappie Record Established For Chattahoochee River Below Buford Dam

That beautiful stretch of the Chattahoochee River in the north Atlanta suburbs below the Lake Lanier tailrace is best known for fantastic trout fishing, including for naturally producing brown trout that can grow to huge sizes. There is also good fishing for other species, especially in the lower end of this stretch of river in the slow waters of Bull Sluice Lake above Morgan Falls Dam in Sandy Springs, and Don Anderson has tapped into that good fishing.

Don set his third river record by establishing a benchmark for white crappie with a 1-lb., 12.16-oz. slab.

“This catch was quite a surprise as I was fishing for bass at the time with a 5-inch Senko worm,” Don said. “My cast next to a shallow brushpile drew an immediate hit, and what felt like a small bass turned out to be a huge crappie. I almost never target crappie on the Chattahoochee, but over the years I have caught quite a few when fishing for trout and bluegills. Invariable they were on the small side, and I have caught very few that would be considered keepers.”

Don got his catch weighed and witnessed on certified scales at Wilkes Meat Market in Cumming.

“Thank you again to those folks at Wilkes for happily weighing and witnessing the weight,” Don said. “This is the third river record they have certified for me. I live in Sandy Springs and drive to their store above Cumming because the chain grocery stores around here all looked at me like I had a third eye when I asked if they would weigh a fish. I always buy some nice ribeyes from them when I’m there as I figure it’s the least I can do for their hospitality. Plus they have awesome old-school butcher shop steaks.”

Don also holds the river record for common carp with a 9-lb., 10.56 fish he caught on a flyrod, and he previously held the largemouth bass record.

Chattahoochee River Record Fish – Buford Dam To Bull Sluice