State-Record Stumpknocker Decided On Coin Flip

Josh Forsythe, of Homerville, with the new state-record spotted sunfish. The 13.69-oz. fish broke a two-way tie between two 12-oz. stumpknockers.

For the second time in less than a month, a state-record spotted sunfish has been certified, this time resulting in a stand-alone, state-record fish. The record was previously shared by two anglers, but Josh Forsythe, of Homerville, is now the sole record holder. His fishing location all came down to a coin flip…

“When I got home from work the afternoon of May 5, me and my 5-year old daughter, Danzbi, got loaded up and decided to head to the Suwannee River. I felt like the fish would be biting, but I couldn’t decide where to put in at. I was torn between Lem Griffis Fish Camp and the main ramp in Fargo,”said Josh.

On the way to Fargo, Josh talked to his wife on the phone, and she told him to go to Lem Griffis where the couple had caught a cooler full of fish the previous weekend. Josh also reached out to a friend who offered the same advice.

“I stopped and decided to flip a quarter. I said if it’s heads, I’ll fish the main ramp in Fargo, if it’s tails I’ll go to Lem.”

Josh gave the coin a flick and when it landed on heads his destiny had been decided. Well…sort of.

“Even after that I was still torn on where to go. I drove past the Fargo ramp and was going to go to Lem anyway. Then I said nope I’m turning around and heading back to Fargo. I’m going with what the quarter decided,” Josh said with a laugh.

Josh and Danzbi launched their boat and began fishing around 4:30. The pair began to catch fish while still in sight of the boat ramp as they began to fish their way downriver.

“We were throwing a topwater bug known as a Swamp Spider that’s made locally by GA Boy Lures. We were catching some pretty nice fliers and stumpknockers, and Danzbi was loving all the action,” said Josh.

A short while later, the anglers came to a large cypress tree that was positioned in the middle of the river. Josh took a quick look at the structure, noticed a pocket of slack water to the side of the tree and fired his Michael Myers (black and orange) Swamp Spider toward the target.

“When it hit the water, I gave it a few twitches, and then let it pause. A couple seconds later, he exploded on it. Me and Danzbi thought we’d never get the fish to the boat. It was only a few seconds, but it seemed a lot longer,” Josh added.

Once Josh took a closer look at the fish, he knew it had to be close to the state record.

“My son, Kaden, caught one that just missed breaking the state record last year, and I was sure this one was bigger.”

Josh clipped it on his hand-held scales, zeroed them out, then hoisted the oversized panfish in the air. When he saw the fish was over 14 ounces, he knew he needed to act quickly.

“I called my son and wife, then I called my buddy who works for GON. He recommended getting the fish on ice as quickly as possible to preserve its weight. I didn’t have any with me, so we hurried to the ramp, loaded up and headed to get a bag of ice,” said Josh.

Josh took the fish to the WRD Waycross Fisheries Office to be certified the next day where it was weighed at 13.69-ozs. and measured 8.9 inches long, thus earning Josh a place in the state-record books.

“I still can’t believe we caught it. I’m thankful the Good Lord let me and my daughter make this awesome memory, and it’s definitely something I won’t forget,” said Josh.

Suwannee River Record Fish

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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.