Satilla River Warmouth Breaks 10-Day-Old Record

What started as a group message between a few friends ended with the Satilla River fish of a lifetime for Michael Lott.

“Me and some good buddies have a group message where we talk about fishing and what not,” said Michael. “On the afternoon of May 10, my buddy Ben Thomason asked if anyone wanted to load up and go after work. I figured I might not have a chance to fish the river again for a while because it was falling out so quick, so I told him I was coming.”

Michael Lott with the new Satilla River record warmouth, which went 1-lb., 4.64-ozs.

The pair of anglers hit the river right after work and managed to put 25 fish in the cooler fairly quickly.

“They were biting really good, we were catching a little of everything pitching crickets to the bank,” said Michael.

Michael said as darkness drew closer the bite began to slow down. The pair fished crickets around some cypress knees without drawing a single bite.

“They generally stop biting just before dark, and I figured that’s what had happened. Once we came through those stumps without a bite, I figured it was over. Then I made a pitch right up next to a cypress tree,” said Michael.

As soon as his cork hit the water, it twitched, and slowly disappeared. When Michael set the hook, the fight was on.

“Man he was pulling hard, right off the bat I knew it was something good.”

Finally after a tense battle on his ultralight combo, Michael was able to get the giant warmouth in the boat. Immediately, Ben recognized the caliber of his friend’s fish.

“Ben said to me, that’s got to be some kind of record. We need to get it to some certified scales. If he had not recommended it, I probably would have just tossed him in the cooler,” said Michael.

The pair of anglers headed home, and Ben took the giant warmouth with him since Michael had to be at work early the next day.

Around 10:30 that night, Ben decided to go to Walmart and get a set of digital fish scales to try and see just how much the fish really weighed.

“As soon as he put the fish on the scales in the Walmart parking lot and realized he was likely a record, he called and told me about it,” said Michael.

After the pair talked, Ben decided to reach out to a friend of his who works at a local butcher shop. Excited about the size of the fish, Ben’s friend met him at the shop around midnight so the fish could be weighed on certified scales.

“Ben was texting me the whole time. When I found out it weighed 1.29 pounds (1-lb., 4.64-ozs.) and was gonna be the new Satilla River record, I was really excited,” said Michael

“I owe it all to Ben. If he wouldn’t have been so persistent, I’d have never even known I had caught a record fish. It was without a doubt, a trip I’ll never forget.”

Michael’s fish beat a warmouth caught just 10 days earlier by Lane Wildes. Lane’s fish was caught May 1 and weighed 1-lb., 4.5-ozs.

Lane Wildes held the warmouth record on the Satilla River for 10 days with this fish.

Satilla River 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.