Alabama Man Catches The Georgia State Record Shoal Bass On An Alabama Rig

The Georgia state record shoal bass weighs 8lbs, 5 ounces, and it was caught from the Chattahoochee River by Joseph McWhorter on Dec. 23, 2021. Wildlife officials said the new catch outweighed the previous record by only two ounces, a similar margin of victory that oddsmakers predict for tonight's college football national championship played between Georgia and Alabama.

Georgia's State Record Shoal Bass

The previous Georgia state record shoal bass caught in 1977

Joseph detected a noticeable thump to his Alabama Rig on the fifth cast of a routine morning spent fishing with his buddies. After a heart-pumping battle, the bass was secured in Joseph's hands which is when he realized something was different. He then called a friend who had a digital scale nearby, and they met at the boat ramp to help measure the catch. After confirming on their own, the guys reached out to the Georgia Wildlife Federation to make things official. And the rest is history.

What's A Shoal Bass?

The new Georgia state record shoal bass - 8lbs & 5 oz

Like the more popular largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass, the shoal bass is a member of the sunfish family. Native to the Southeast, the shoal bass was not considered a subspecies until 1999. Before then, the rare and regional fish got identified as redeye or Suwanee bass, which are other niche bass subspecies swimming in the south.

The Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers are home to Georgia's most robust shoal bass populations, and anglers report catches regularly. However, the competition from other fish like the spotted bass and largemouth bass depletes the shoal bass population.

An easy way to identify a shoal bass is by their jawline. If you're in Georgia and catch a bass whose jawline doesn't extend past their eyes, you might have a shoal bass.