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On Saturday, Rossville, Georgia angler Jeffrey Forester went kayak fishing on South Chickamauga Creek, a small stream in the northwestern corner of the state. On his second cast of the day, Forester hooked what he thought was a black bass. The fish turned out to be a big rock bass \u2014 big enough that he thought it was worthy of attention from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The DNR agreed, and on Thursday the agency certified Forester\u2019s fish as Georgia\u2019s first-ever state-record rock bass.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided to take the kayak out that day and when I got to the creek, I just knew it was going to be a good fishing day,\u201d Forester told the DNR in a press release<\/a>. \u201cWith the second cast of the day, I hung into what felt like a decent black bass, but as I got closer, I could see it was a monster rock bass and thought to myself, do not let this one get off the line, it is definitely record-sized, and lucky enough for me \u2013 it sure was!\u201d<\/p>\n Forester brought his catch to the DNR office in Armuchee, where fisheries supervisor Jim Hakala recorded an official weight of exactly 1 pound. That is the minimum size for a new Georgia record, Hakala tells Outdoor Life<\/em>. But up until this past weekend, nobody had submitted a rock bass of that size for record consideration. <\/p>\n \u201cHe was really excited about catching what will be the new state record rock bass,\u201d Hakala says. \u201cHe\u2019ll get a state award certificate showing that his record rock bass is an exceptional Georgia catch.\u201d<\/p>\n Hakala says rock bass are rare in Georgia. They only inhabit waters in the Tennessee River basin, which covers a relatively small corner of northwest Georgia. For that reason, Hakala explains, rock bass are generally overlooked by many Peach State anglers. <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re pretty, fun to catch, and good to eat, but we just don\u2019t have many anglers who go after them because of their limited range and comparatively small size,\u201d Hakala says. \u201cForester was targeting them that day for a possible state record \u2013 which he got. He was very happy about his catch and he said he may have a replica mount made of the fish as a trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n Forester is an avid angler who told the DNR he\u2019s caught hundreds of rock bass over the years. He even received a pair of \u201cAngler Awards<\/a>\u201d from the agency for a couple of those catches. (The program recognizes anglers who catch fish of an exceptional size even if they don\u2019t break a record.) But Forester says his new state record tops them all.<\/p>\n