Lake Rabun Gets New Black Crappie Record

New lake records are exciting, but when a 12-year-old provides a new benchmark for a fish, it certainly makes the story even better.

Colter Cannon, of Clayton, was fishing Lake Rabun on April 23 with his dad Johnathon when he caught a new lake-record black crappie. The slab weighed 2-lbs., 0.16-os. on certified scales at Andy’s Market on Rickman Street in Clayton.

Colter Cannon, 12, of Clayton, was fishing Lake Rabun on April 23 with his dad Johnathon when he caught a new lake-record black crappie.

On the way to the lake that morning, Johnathon asked Colter an important question: “Would you rather catch a bunch of fish and load the boat or would you rather catch one good fish?”

“Load the boat,” was Colter’s answer.

So they got in the boat and went fishing. They ended up down the lake and pulled into a cove with some 71-degree water, the warmest they had located. To this point, they hadn’t caught a fish. They were mostly bass fishing, but they had some live minnows, too.

“Colter threw out a minnow on a brushpile on a point, no bobber, in 14 feet of water,” said Johnathon.

Then Colter laid down his ultra-light rod with the crappie minnow and began tying a worm hook on another rod to go back to bass fishing. Also in the boat was Colter’s 17-year-old sister Scout, who was just looking for some fun in the sun.

“Scout was in the middle of the boat and said, ‘Colter your pole is moving,'” said Johnathon. “When the fish got to the top of the water, I thought it as small striper or a bass because of the shine on the water. He was using that ultra-light with 4-lb. test. I told Scout to get up because the net was in the box under her. She said I about knocked her out of boat getting to net.”

Johnathon was in the back of the boat when he was able to net the fish.

“I told Colter, ‘You you ain’t gonna believe this,’ said Johnathon. “I told him this is biggest crappie I have ever seen. I had a set of Rapala scales, and we weighed it at 2.02 pounds. He was freaking out. I said it may be one of the top-five fish for this lake. We found where the record was 1-15, and then we called DNR to see what we needed to do.”

Mix Up Techniques For A Mixed Bag On Lake Rabun

Believe it or not, it was the only fish Colter caught that day. So his dad had to ask him at the end of the day: “Would you rather catch a bunch of fish and load the boat or would you rather catch one good fish?”

Colter smiled, “I guess when you catch one like that it makes up for not filing boat.”

WRD Fisheries verified the fish as a black crappie.

Lake Rabun Records

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.