Spotted Sunfish State Record Broken for 3rd Time in Less Than a Year

Josh Forsythe of Homerville, GA (Clinch County) landed the newest record catch of 0 lb, 13 oz on May 5 from the Suwannee River. This almost 9-inch catch beats the previous state record tie of 0 lb, 12 oz, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD).

“My 5-year-old daughter and I were fishing for bream on one of my favorite rivers, the Suwannee, when I caught this spotted sunfish,” said Forsythe. “I have been fishing this river for more than 15 years and it is one of my favorite places to fish for good-sized bream, especially spotted sunfish. I recommend waiting until river levels are below 4-foot and using top water bugs to catch giants, but a beetle spin or even a cricket or a worm on a cork will work.”

Spotted sunfish (Lepomis punctatus) are a member of the Sunfish family and are nicknamed “stumpknocker” because they orient strongly to stumps where they find food. They are dark olive or brown on top, with light green or olive sides, dark vertical bars along the sides of the largest fish, covered with small black spots and dusky orange fins. Most are less than half a pound by weight. They are found in the Ocmulgee, Oconee, Altamaha, Ogeechee, Ochlockonee, Suwannee, St. Mary’s, Satilla and Savannah River basins. They prefer heavily vegetated, slow-moving lowland streams and warm shallow ponds. When angling for them, WRD recommends using worms, crickets, small spinners, flies and popping bugs.

“Maybe hearing about that state record tie for spotted sunfish fired up some folks to land a new record – and we love to see it,” says Scott Robinson, WRD Chief of Fisheries. “Are you the next state record holder? Georgia has the best variety of angling opportunities across the state so Let’s Go Fish Georgia!”

Georgia anglers support fisheries conservation! Did you know that your license purchase allows WRD to continue to do important research, maintain and operate public fishing areas and more? Purchase a Georgia license at GoOutdoorsGeorgia.com.

For fishing tips, be sure to check out the weekly Fishing Blog post at GeorgiaWildlife.blog/category/fishing/.

Find Information about state-record fish at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/recordprogram/rules.