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June 04, 2010
South Carolina's brook trout record, which until 2010 had stood
for more than 30 years, was recently broken three times in less
than a week as mature brood fish from the Walhalla State Fish
Hatchery were stocked in Upstate streams. In all, the state's
brook trout record has been broken five times in 2010.
"Brook trout are not all of a sudden getting bigger in South
Carolina," said Dan Rankin, Upstate regional fisheries biologist
for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR). "We have been
recently taking the older brood fish that are used to provide eggs
out of Walhalla State Fish Hatchery, and stocking them in Upstate
streams. These 2-year-old and 3-year-old brood fish are the record
fish that are now being caught. Still, this has created a great
deal of excitement for trout anglers, and we're glad to see that."
The recent roller coaster ride for the state brook trout record
began March 25 when Wes Coker of Simpsonville caught a brook trout
on the Chattooga River, in between Burrells Ford and the Walhalla
hatchery, using a Panther Martin Spinner. The brook trout weighed
2 pounds, 14.56 ounces, which broke the 2-pound, 12-ounce record
that had been caught Feb. 12 in Lake Jocassee by Bryan Lee of
Mauldin. Prior to Lee's record, the state record brook trout came
out of the South Saluda River, when 9-year-old Riley Dunn of
Tigerville caught a 2-pound, 6.08-ounce brook trout on Jan. 22.
However, since existing records must be exceeded by a minimum of
two ounces to be supplanted in the state record book, Riley's
catch shared the top spot with the long-standing record, a
2-pound, 6-ounce brookie caught by L. Dean Chapman of Salem on the
Chattooga River in 1979.
Wes Coker's new brook trout record stood for only two days.
Jonathan R. Geer, an 11-year-old angler from Abbeville, set a new
record on March 27 when he caught a 3-pound, 2.6-ounce brook trout
in the Grapevine section of the Chauga River using a "Joe's Flies"
No. 8 Brown Wooly Worm with a gold blade.
Geer held the record for a whopping four days before Wayne E.
Hallberg of Travelers Rest caught a 3-pound, 9.5-ounce brook trout
March 31 in the South Saluda River, using a Super Duper Spinner.
Geer's brook trout is the current state record holder—for now!
All freshwater fish records for South Carolina can be found
online. To report your record breaking catch, an Affidavit for
Record Freshwater Game Fish must be completed and submitted to DNR
no more than 45 days after the catch.
Anglers who think they have caught a state or world record fish
should take the fish as soon as possible to a set of state
certified scales-such as a local grocery store scale. Two
witnesses must be present and available to sign the state
affidavit form. Photos should be taken for additional
documentation and steps taken to immediately preserve the fish.
This can be done by wrapping the fish in a dark plastic bag and
placing the fish on ice or freezing it.
Freshwater all-tackle sportfishing records are kept for 32
species: striped bass, white bass, hybrid bass, white perch,
largemouth bass, spotted bass, smallmouth bass, redeye bass,
bluegill (bream), shellcracker, redbreast, warmouth, flier,
pumpkinseed, white crappie, black crappie, brook trout, brown
trout, rainbow trout, sauger, yellow perch, walleye, chain
pickerel (jackfish), redfin pike, muskellunge (muskie), blue
catfish, bullhead catfish, channel catfish, flathead catfish,
white catfish, mudfish (bowfin) and American shad.
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