Two New Fishing Records Close Calendar Year
Tuesday, February 03, 2009 | 03:20am
NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency reports that two new state fishing records were established to close out the calendar year in December, including one that surpasses a mark that was established last April. The new records are for spotted bass and gizzard shad.
Preston Taylor, III of Bristol, used a T.D. minnow to catch a 3 lb., 3 oz. gizzard shad from the Holston River in Sullivan County. Taylor landed his trophy at noon on Dec. 13 and the fish measured 19.5 inches in length. Taylor’s catch surpassed the previous record set by a Knoxville resident, Roy Hawk, who caught a 3 lb. gizzard shad that was 17 ¾ inches long on April 3, while fishing on the South Fork of the Holston River.
Jack Paul Watson, of Tellico Plains, is the new state record holder of the spotted bass, making his catch on New Year’s Eve morning on Parksville Lake in Polk County. Watson used a floating fly on a 6 lb. test line to land his 5 lb., 14 oz. trophy that was 23 1/4 inches in length.
Watson’s spotted bass was a prime example of the species and TWRA confirmed that the fish was a spotted bass using genetic analyses. Many black bass anglers have been vying to be the one to catch the next state record spotted bass. Watson’s record fish passed that state mark which stood for almost 20 years. Gary Martin had a 5 lb., 8 oz. spotted bass catch on Feb. 4, 1989 on Center Hill Lake.
The criteria to be considered for a state record fish along with the new record application and instructions, state records and fishing license information are in the 2009 TWRA Tennessee Fishing Guide which will be available later this month. Information is also available on the TWRA Web site at by clicking on “Fishing” located on the left side of the home page.
---TWRA---