The Flint River officially has a new record Gulf striped bass, says the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division. Southwest Georgia angler Travis Harrell landed the striper, which weighed a hefty 52.2 pounds just below the Georgia Power dam in Albany back in March while fishing from the dam wall.
Now, the division has formally recognized the catch as the new Flint River record.vGulf striped bass are genetically distinct from Atlantic stripers and they rely on the Flint River’s cool, spring-fed water to survive.
Outdoor Life reports that Harrell caught his fish on a 2-ounce pink bucktail jig, fitted with an 8-inch long Got-Cha white plastic grub on a long, 150-foot cast from the shore. He fought the striper for 20 minutes before his friend, Doug Willbey, lent a hand with a well-timed net. The fish weighed a bit over 50 pounds on site, but clocked in at 52.2 at the local DNR office in Albany, destroying the previous record of 48.5 pounds set by a fish caught in 1983.
Harrell says a tight-knit group of local fisherman fish the dam wall all year long for panfish, catfish, bass, and hybrid stripers. The big spawning-run stripers push up the river in the spring, but they run right into the dam, and that’s where anglers have a chance to hook one without actually getting on the water.
“All my family has caught 30-pound stripers from The Wall,” Harell told Outdoor Life. “My best one until now was a 22-pounder. It takes effort to connect with a big striper there. That’s why in spring I take vacation time to fish The Wall.
