Fishing Records & Awards

Application and Instruction

The angler has the right to release the fish and not submit it for a state record. If the angler chooses to submit the fish for a state record, the resulting examination will likely result in the death of the fish.

The following criteria must be followed when applying for a state record certificate:

1. State record fish application is available here:
 tn.gov/content/dam/tn/twra/documents/fishing/record-fish-application.pdf.

2. To be considered for a state record certificate, the fish must be weighed on certified scales, or scales “legal for trade”. These scales may be found at supermarket meat centers, Farm/Feed stores, United States Postal Service, or FedEx locations.

3. Two witnesses, one of which must be the scale operator/owner, must fill out and sign Part B of the application certifying that they have observed the declared weight.

4. Only the current species listed in Class A and B below, or those approved by TWRA, will be considered for a Tennessee state record fish certification.

5. Ties are accepted, but a new state record will be recognized only if the weight of the fish is one (1) ounce (oz) or more than the weight of the previous state record for that species or recognized hybrid (see #7).

6. It is the responsibility of the angler to contact a TWRA fisheries biologist for positive identification of the fish. The fish must be alive, fresh, or frozen until a positive species identity can be established. A photograph is not acceptable for identification.

7. Only two hybrid classifications, the striped bass/white bass (Cherokee bass) and the walleye/sauger (Saugeye), will be considered for a state record. Applicants must be willing to submit to the professional judgment of the certifying biologist as to the fish’s hybrid status.

8. TWRA reserves the right to conduct genetic testing on any fish submitted as a state record to verify its species or hybrid status.

9. Applicant(s) 13 years of age and older must be licensed anglers and must provide their license number (TWRA ID#) on the application. 

10. The completed application must be forwarded to the TWRA Fisheries Division within 30 days of the catch in order to be considered for a state record certification.

Complete Listing of Tennessee State Fishing Records

(*) indicates a world record

(a) trotline, (b) limbline, (c) jug, (d) slat basket, (e) gigging (f) grabbling, (g) grab hooks, (h) snagging, (i) archery, (j) speargun, (k) commercial gear.

Photographs of State Record Fish

Class A

Class A Spotted Sucker, 3 lbs., 5 oz., Woods Reservoir, Randall Morris Mills, February 18, 2024
Smallmouth* 11 lbs., 15 oz. Dale Hollow Reservoir D. L. Hayes July 9, 1955
Largemouth 15 lbs., 3 oz. Chickamauga Reservoir Gabe Keen February 13, 2015
Alabama 7 lbs., 0 oz. Parksville Reservoir Shane McKee March 10, 2014
Yellow* 2 lbs., 9 oz. Duck River (near Waverly,TN) John T. Chappell February 27, 1998
Brook 4 lbs., 12 oz. Caney Fork River Saŝa Krezić April 1, 2016
Class: A Species: Cutthroat Trout Weight: 6 lbs., 9 oz. Waterbody: Ft. Patrick Henry Reservoir (Boone tailwater) Angler: Charles Donald Fulton Date: June 28, 2024
Class A, Rainbow Trout 18 lbs., 8 oz. Pond (Polk Co.) John H. Morgan III June 17, 2016
Class A, Ohrid Trout 14 lbs., 5 oz. Watauga Reservoir Richard Lynn Carter March 28, 1986
Class A, Black Crappie 5 lbs., 7.7 oz. Pond (Loudon Co.) Lionel Ferguson May 15, 2018
Class A, Yellow Perch 2 lbs., 5 oz. Ocoee #3 Lake Jeremy Gary Lorenz March 26, 2019
Class A Walleye 25 lbs Old Hickory Reservoir Mabry Harper August 3, 1960
Class A Muskellunge Pike 43 lbs., 14 oz. Melton Hill Reservoir Steven Paul March 2, 2017
Class A Channel Catfish 41 lbs. Fall Creek Falls Lake Clint Walters, Jr. July 30, 1982
Class: A Species: Blue Catfish Weight: 122 lbs., 3 oz. Waterbody: Barkley Reservoir Angler: Micka Burkhart Date: June 28, 2023
Class A Brown Bullhead Catfish 3 lbs., 15 oz. Whiteville Lake Gary Dean Arthur October 25, 2014
Class A Bighead Carp 90 lbs. Guntersville Reservoir Jeffrey J. Rorex June 2, 2005
Class A Common Carp 53 lbs. Marrowbone Lake John R. Pepper, Jr. May 21, 1997
Class A Silver Carp 37 lbs., 0.4 oz. Old Hickory Reservoir Brian Keith Townsend May 8, 2021
Class: A Species: Silver Redhorse Weight: 6 lbs., 14.7 oz. Waterbody: Nolichucky River – (Enka Dam – Hamblen County) Angler: Elise Hyatt Date: : March 26, 2023
Class A American Eel 8 lbs., 14 oz. Old Hickory Reservoir Jason Wilson July 27, 2019
Class A Creek Chub 8 oz. West Blackburn Fork Creek Jake Wear June 21, 2017
Class A Paddlefish 149 lbs. 0 oz. Cherokee Reservoir Henry Dyer April 13, 2023
Class A Skipjack Herring 4 lbs., 3 oz. Watts Bar Reservoir Marc A. Cooper II February 17, 2015
Class A Quillback Carpsucker 6 lbs., 5 oz. South Holston Reservoir Daniel Taylor February 10, 2019
Class A Freshwater Drum* 54 lbs., 8 oz. Nickajack Reservoir Benny Hull April 20, 1972
Class A Tilapia 7 lbs., 6.6 oz. Old Hickory Reservoir Gary L. Phelps November 27, 2017

Class B

(a) trotline, (b) limbline, (c) jug, (d) slat basket, (e) gigging (f) grabbling, (g) grab hooks, (h) snagging, (i) archery, (j) speargun, (k) commercial gear.

(*) Method (dipping) no longer recognized

Class B (Archery) Smallmouth Buffalo, Weight: 68 lbs., 8 oz., Old Hickory Reservoir, William Brooks and Tyson Vincent, February 27, 2024
Class B Bighead Carp 98 lbs. (i) Kentucky Res. (Below Pickwick) Michael Neal Pirtle June 16, 2022
Class B Black Carp 114 lbs., 3 oz. Mississippi River – (Lake County) Michael Scrivner January 1, 2023
Class B Silver Carp 42 lbs., 9 oz. (k) Pickwick Reservoir (Dry Creek) Correy Stroope May 16, 2023
Class B Goldfish 3 lbs., 12 (i) Nolichucky River Justin Wolbert April 28, 2021
Class B Grass (White Amur) 78 lbs. Nickajack Reservoir Allen Kimsey May 19, 2001
Golden Redhorse 3 lbs., 2 oz. (i) East Fork Stones River Josh Melton April 5, 2023
River Redhorse 15 lbs., 4 oz. (h) Wolf River (Pickett Co.) Billy Joe Johnson May 6, 2018
Silver Redhorse 8 lbs., 5.5 oz. (i) Stones River (below P. Priest Dam) Landon Morris June 8, 2023
Class B Smallmouth Redhorse 1 lb., 12 oz. (i) Stones River (East Fork) Josh Melton April 3, 2022
Class B Brown Bullhead 3 lbs., 4 oz. (c) Whiteville Lake Gary Dean Arthur October 25, 2014
Class B Longnose Gar 45 lbs., 8 oz. (i) Kentucky Reservoir Alex Bailey October 7, 2015
Class B Longnose Gar 45 lbs., 8 oz. (i) Kentucky Reservoir Alex Bailey October 7, 2015
Class B American Eel 4 lbs., .20 oz. (a) Duck River Evan Mercer June 9, 2018
Class B Bowfin 11 lbs., 11 oz. (i) Reelfoot Lake Buckley Pepper December 15, 2021
Class B Creek Chub .10 oz. (*) West Fork Drake Creek Jake Andrew Bradford Wade February 9, 2018
Class B Freshwater Drum 29 lbs., 1 oz. (i) Kentucky Reservoir Andrew Pruitt March 25, 2017
Class B Quillback Carpsucker 6 lbs., 5 oz. (i) Boone Reservoir Danny Tipton May 15, 2020
Class B River Carpsucker 8 lbs., 1 oz. (i) Cordell Hull Reservoir Brandon Nixon May 2, 2020
Class B Paddlefish 120 lbs. (h) Center Hill Reservoir-(Bluehole) John T. Johnson March 23, 1982
Class B Spotted Sucker 2 lbs., 15 oz. (k) Chickamauga Reservoir Heath Jordan January 29, 2021
Class B Tilapia 9 lbs., 8 oz. (i) Old Hickory Reservoir Steve Creekmore December 2, 2017
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