Three Canoochee Panfish Records In Three Days

Three Canoochee River panfish records were broken in just three days. The Canoochee is still relatively new to the Lake & River Records, and the benchmark records for this river just got a little stronger.

Fish No. 1 was a warmouth caught by Tim Stewart, of Glennville.

“I fished the Canoochee for the first time yesterday (June 17) and caught a warmouth weighing .86 pounds,” said Tim Stewart in an email to GON. “It wasn’t until I got home I realized you guys keep records on waters. Realizing mine would’ve broken the current record, I was pretty upset. I went back today (June 18) and caught one very close, .88 pounds.”

Tim’s 14.08-oz. fish was caught from Landing 22 on Fort Stewart and replaces the old warmouth record of 12.48-ozs. That fish was caught on May 21, 2019 by Glen Solomon, who was the advocate for keeping river records on smaller rivers in south Georgia.

Feature Article: Canoochee River’s Cork-Shy Bream With Glen Solomon

GON‘s benchmark policy for keeping records is that a river must be 75 miles long and a lake must be at least 500 acres in size. There are also minimum weights for establishing new benchmark records.

Tim Stewart’s 14.08-oz. warmouth.

Bream No. 2 and No. 3 from the Cannoochee were caught by the same angler on the same day.

“I got two in one day,” said Chip Asbury, of Statesboro, who now owns bluegill and shellcracker records for the Canoochee River after a very successful day of fishing on June 19. He launched his boat from the Hwy 280 ramp in Bryan County.

“I had never fished the river, and my wife and I decided to fish it,” said Chip. “The weather was getting bad, that basic 4 o’clock shower, and I made the proverbial last cast and caught that bluegill.”

Just before catching the record bluegill, Chip boated the record 14.4-oz. shellcracker. Both fish, the shellcracker and the 15.04-oz. bluegill, hit a Beetle Spin type lure with a cricket on it.

Chip Asbury now has bluegill and shellcracker records for the Canoochee River after a very successful day of fishing on June 19.

All three panfish were officially weighed with witnesses at Mike’s Discount Meat Market, 307 N Duval St, Claxton, GA 30417. GON spoke with Mike’s Meats, and they have been more than happy to weigh fish for excited anglers. While the above three fish were weighed on smaller digital scales, Mike’s Meats did say they had a certified mechanical scale that goes up to 500 pounds if someone had a catfish or something larger that needed to be weighed for GON’s official Georgia Lake & River Records.

Canoochee River Record Fish

See All GON Official Georgia Lake & River Records

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.