Lineside Records Set On Georgia Mountain Lakes

There aren’t many stripers in Lake Rabun, but Gus Hames, of Clarkesville, knows there are good ones. He caught this 21-lb., 11-oz. record fishing a blueback on 8-lb. test on Sept. 22, 2011.

Over the last few months, Lake Oconee has dominated coverage of lake records. We’ve watched catfish records for the lake change hands faster than hot potatoes. However, linesides have been the story on north Georgia’s mountain lakes. In the spring, new records for hybrid bass were set for both Lake Burton and Carters Lake, and more recently the new Burton hybrid record was tied, and a striper will raise the mark on Lake Rabun.

Roger Killian, of Gainesville, tied the Lake Burton hybrid bass record on Oct. 5 with this 12-lb., 2-oz. fish that crashed his umbrella rig.

And then there’s the Coosawattee River below Carters. We started keeping records for the Coosawattee this year, and Dwayne Pritchett, of Chatsworth, is racking them up. He set the bar for walleye in April, and now he’s on the list with a nice hybrid.

Someone other than Dwayne Pritchett needs to fish the Coosawattee River. The Chatsworth angler caught the only two certified fish so far. He caught the walleye record in April, and with this 8-lb., 11.8-oz. hybrid he caught June 24, 2011, he now holds the hybrid record, as well.

There are still a few months before we publish the complete GON’s Lake and River Records in February, and November is a good time to catch fish. If you catch a record fish, get a weight on certified scales, take good photos, keep the fish on ice and contact us at (800) 438-4663.