Hadden Sets Clarks Hill Spotted Bass Record

Tanner Hadden set a new Clarks Hill lake record with this 5-lb., 7.2-oz. spotted bass caught on April 23, 2024.

What began as a slow day on Clarks Hill Lake for Tanner Hadden and his guide party turned exciting and memorable with one key bite. Tanner decided to find some keeper spotted bass in deep brush for his clients to catch. When Tanner cast a 3/16-oz. Greenfish Cleanup shaky head jig threaded with a green pumpkin Senko to a 20-foot-deep brushpile in Keg Creek, he set the hook on a record-setting fish. Tanner boated a 5.45-lb. spotted bass (5-lbs., 7.2-ozs.), a new Clarks Hill lake record.

A WRD fisheries biologist came to Wildwood Ramp to weigh the fish on certified scales. The spot was 23 1/2 inches long and had a girth of 14 1/8 inches. After the fish was weighed and certified, Tanner released the Clarks Hill lake record spotted bass at the ramp at Wildwood to bite again.

The record spot was eating well—it had a girth of 14 1/8 inches.

Tanner guides on Clarks Hill, as well as fishes tournaments, and he is on the water about 250 days a year. He is an expert on electronics, installing them and also offering instructions with his Top Marine service. His dad D.J. owns Tanner Outdoors near Wildwood Park, and they are regular contributors to the GON fishing reports.

Tanner was the featured angler in a Clarks Hill Map of the Month article in the July 2021 issue of GON, and his dad D.J. was featured in a May 2020 article.

GON Official Clarks Hill Lake Record Fish

Catch A Lake or River Record? 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.