Fishing Records & Awards

Honoring Your Catch

60 Seasons of Fishing Secrets – TN WildCast 342

Complete Listing of Tennessee State Fishing Records

Class A - Sportfishing Methods
Class B - Methods other than Sportfishing

Black Bass

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Coosa (Redeye)	1 lb. 15 oz.	Parksville Reservoir	Harry E. Parker	August 18, 1991
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
Spotted	6 lbs. 1 oz.	Chickamauga Reservoir	Chris Coleman	February 22, 2011
Alabama	7 lbs. 0 oz.	Parksville Reservoir	Shane McKee	March 10, 2014

True Bass

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Striped Bass (Rockfish)	65 lbs. 6 oz	Cordell Hull Reservoir	Ralph H. Dallas	May 1, 2000
Cherokee (Hybrid)	23 lbs. 3 oz.	Stones River	Ray Pelfrey	April 17, 1998
White	5 lbs. 10 oz.	Mississippi River	Bill Nelson	September 29, 2003
Yellow*	2 lbs. 9 oz.	Duck River (near Waverly, TN)	John T. Chappell	February 27, 1998

Trout

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Brook	4 lbs. 12 oz.	Caney Fork River	Saŝa Krezić	April 1, 2016
Brown	28 lbs. 12 oz.	Clinch River	Greg Ensor	August 30, 1988
Cutthroat	4 lbs. 12 oz.	Ft. Patrick Henry (Boone TW)	Palmer M. Tipton	July 22, 2023
Rainbow	18 lbs. 8 oz.	Pond (Polk County)	John H. Morgan III	June 17, 2016
Ohrid*	14 lbs. 5 oz.	Watauga Reservoir	Richard Lynn Carter	March 28, 1986
Lake	22 lbs. 2 oz.	Watauga Reservoir	Jack Forbes	July 3, 2008

Crappie

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Black*	5 lbs. 7 oz.	Private Pond - (Loudon County)	Lionel Ferguson	May 15, 2018
White	5 lbs. 1 oz.	Garner Brown's Pond (Dickson County)	Bill Allen	April 20, 1968

Perch

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Yellow	2 lbs. 5 oz.	Ocoee #3 Lake	Jeremy Gary Lorenz	March 26, 2019
Sauger	7 lbs. 6 oz.	Kentucky Reservoir (Pickwick tailwater)	Rayford D. Voss	February 19, 1973
Saugeye	10 lbs. 12 oz.	Melton Hill Reservoir	Chris Vittetoe	July 18, 1998
Walleye*	25 lbs.	Old Hickory Reservoir	Mabry Harper	August 3, 1960

Pike

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Northern	24 lbs. 8 oz.	South Holston Reservoir	Frank Childers	March 28, 1995
Muskellunge	43 lbs. 14 oz.	Melton Hill Reservoir	Steven Paul	March 2, 2017
Chain Pickerel	7 lbs. 7 oz.	Kentucky Reservoir	Burke Williams	February 2, 1991

Sunfish

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Bluegill (tie)	3 lbs.	Farm Pond, Bledsoe Co.	Brad Pendergrass	December 19, 1987
Bluegill (tie)	3 lbs.	Fall Creek Falls Creek	Thelma Grissom	June 27, 1977
Pumpkinseed	5 oz.	Dogwood Lake	Lynn Middleton	June 14, 1998
Green	1 lb. 4 oz.	North Cross Creek	Dwight M. Lehman	June 8, 1991
Longear	13 oz.	Pond, Overton Co.	Kay Forsberg	May 15, 1985
Redbreast	1 lb. 5 oz.	Holston River	R. W. Gillespie	June 22, 1974
Redear	3 lbs. 6 oz.	Private Pond	Annelise S. Houston	September 1, 1979
Rock Bass	2 lbs. 8 oz.	Stones River	Bill Sanford	1958
Warmouth	1 lb. 12 oz.	Nolichucky River	Frank E. Garrett	May 26, 1984
Flier	8 oz.	Kentucky Reservoir	Craig Ellis	June 8, 2001
Orangespotted	5 oz.	Nolichucky River	Donald Daryl Fox	May 30, 1982

Catfish

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Channel	41 lbs.	Fall Creek Falls Lake	Clint Walters, Jr.	July 30, 1982
Blue	122 lbs., 3 oz.	Barkley Reservoir	Micka Burkhart	June 28, 2023
Flathead	85 lbs. 15 oz.	Hiwassee River	Larry Kaylor	July 25, 1993
Black Bullhead	3 lbs. 6 oz.	Emberton's Pond, Cannon Co.	Hunter Chance Gaither	February 20, 1997
Brown Bullhead	3 lbs. 15 oz.	Whiteville Lake	Gary Dean Arthur	October 25, 2014
Yellow Bullhead	4 lbs. 8 oz.	Chickamauga Reservoir	Jessie R. Johnson	April 21, 1979

Carp

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Bighead*	90 lbs. 0 oz.	Guntersville Reservoir	Jeffery J. Rorex	June 2, 2005
Common	53 lbs. 0 oz.	Marrowbone Lake	John R. Pepper, Jr.	May 21, 1997
Goldfish	3 lb. 5 oz	Douglas Reservoir	Chase Rich	March 10, 2016
Silver	37 lbs. 0.4 oz	Old Hickory Reservoir	Brian Townsend	May 8, 2021
White Amur (Grass)	70 lbs. 0 oz.	Guntersville Reservoir (Nickajack tailwater)	Chad A. Killian	June 4, 2005

Buffalo

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Bigmouth	62 lbs. 0 oz.	J. Percy Priest Reservoir	Jeff Wilkins	April 1, 2010
Black	58 lbs. 0 oz.	Nickajack Reservoir	Steve Coursey	May 20, 2013
Smallmouth	62 lbs. 7 oz.	Percy Priest Reservoir	Jerry W. Young	April 28, 2001

Gar

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Longnose	38 lbs. 3 oz.	Barkley Reservoir	Mathew A. Norton	April 19, 2002
Shortnose	7 lbs. 3 oz.	Cross Creeks (Barkley Res.)	Stephanie Flood	June 13, 2014
Spotted	10 lbs. 10 oz.	Cross Creeks (Barkley Res.)	Keith Edward Bartley	April 28, 2014

Redhorse

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
Black	3 lbs. 1 oz.	South Holston River	Roy Hawk	February 16, 2009
Golden	2 lbs. 15.5 oz.	South Holston River	W. Powell Partridge, Sr.	March 28, 2008
River	11 lbs. 10 oz.	Pigeon River	David. H. Ray	May 2, 2009
Smallmouth	1 lb. 10 oz.	French Broad River	Larry Hamilton	July 27, 2013
Silver	6 lbs. 14.7 oz.	Nolichucky River – (Enka Dam – Hamblen County)	Elise Hyatt	March 26, 2023

Other Species

Species	Weight	Location	Caught By	Date Caught
American Eel	8 lbs. 14 oz.	Old Hickory Reservoir	Jason Wilson	July 27, 2019
Atlantic Needlefish	1.6 oz	Pickwick Dam Tailwater	J. Wesley Neal	September 30, 2008
Bowfin	15 lbs. 7 oz.	Reelfoot Lake	Charles Aaron	June 22, 1983
Paddlefish	149 lbs.	Cherokee Reservoir	Henry Dyer	April 13, 2023
Creek Chub	8 oz.	West Blackburn Fork Creek	Jake Wear	June 21, 2017
Central Stoneroller (Hornyhead)	10 oz.	Hiwassee River	Roy S. King	May 1, 1983
Golden Shiner	1 lbs. .05 oz.	Kentucky Lake	Joseph Wayne Dennie	April 13, 2016
Gizzard Shad	3 lbs. 3 oz.	Holston River	Preston H. Taylor III	December 13, 2008
Skipjack Herring*	4 lbs. 3 oz	Watts Bar Reservoir	Marc A. Cooper II	February 17, 2015
Goldeye	14 oz.	Cumberland River	Harold A. Sanders	April 17, 1993
Mooneye	1 lb. 4 oz.	Hiwassee River	Steve D. Moss	May 5, 2005
River Carpsucker	1 lb. 9 oz	Pickwick Reservoir	Dr. Jim Youmans	February 28, 1980
Quillback Carpsucker	6 lbs. 5 oz.	South Holston Reservoir	Daniel Taylor	February 10, 2019
Spotted Sucker	3 lbs. 5 oz.	Woods Reservoir	Randall Morris Mills	February 18, 2024
White Sucker	1 lb. 10 oz.	Little War Creek (Hancock Co.)	Jim Habera	April 26, 2007
Northern Hogsucker	2 lbs. 9 oz.	South Holsten River	Roy Hawk	February 16, 2009
Freshwater Drum*	54 lbs. 8 oz.	Nickajack Reservoir	Benny Hull	April 20, 1972
Tilapia (Nile)	7 lbs. 6.6 oz.	Old Hickory Reservoir	Gary L. Phelps	November 27, 2017

(*) 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.

COMMON NAME		WEIGHT/(method)	LOCATION	ANGLER	DATE
BUFFALO	Bigmouth Buffalo	59 lbs., 7 oz. (i)	J. Percy Priest Reservoir	Brett J. Dennison	May 2, 2013
	Smallmouth Buffalo (TIE) Smallmouth Buffalo (TIE) Smallmouth Buffalo (TIE) Smallmouth Buffalo (TIE)	68 lbs., 8 oz. (i)	Kentucky Reservoir	Reece Bledsoe Jonathon Bledsoe William Brooks Tyson Vincent	April 6, 2013
	Black Buffalo	80 lbs. (a)	Robco Lake (Shelby Co.)	Hiluard J. DeLoach	April 1, 1980
CARP	Bighead Carp	98 lbs. (i)	Kentucky Reservoir (Hardin Co)	Michael Neal Pirtle	June 16, 2022
	Black Carp	114 lbs., 3 oz. (k)	Mississippi River - (Lake County)	Michael Scrivner	January 1, 2023
	Silver Carp	42 lbs., 9 oz. (k)	Pickwick Reservoir (Dry Creek)	Correy Stroope	May 16, 2023
	Common Carp	52 lbs., 14 oz.(i)	Nickajack Reservoir	Allen Kimsey	June 24, 2002
	Goldfish	3 lbs., 12 oz. (i)	Nolichucky River	Justin Wolbert	April 28, 2021
	White Amur (Grass)	78 lbs. (i)	Nickajack Reservoir	Allen Kimsey	May 19, 2001
REDHORSE	Black Redhorse	3 lbs., 10 oz. (a)	Chilhowee Reservoir	Lewis Winters	October 26, 2007
	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 (Puckett 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
	Smallmouth Redhorse	1 lb., 12oz. (i)	Stones River (East Fork)	Josh Melton	April 3, 2022
CATFISH	Flathead Catfish	92 lbs. (k)	Mississippi River	Kenneth A. Childres Jackie W. Stafford Jerry L. Stafford	November 30, 2000
	Channel Catfish	18 lbs., 0oz. (k) 18 lbs., 0oz. (b)	Kentucky Reservoir Tims Ford Reservoir	Billy Roberson Josh Burch	March 3, 2016 July 13, 2016
	Blue Catfish	130 lbs. (k)	Ft. Loudoun Reservoir	J.C. Garland Bill Norman Richard Reagan	December 18, 1976
BULLHEAD	Black Bullhead	3 lbs., 14 oz. (*)	Lakeland Trout Farm	David Taft	June 18, 1982
	Brown Bullhead	3 lbs., 4 oz. (c)	Whiteville Lake	Gary Dean Arthur	October 25, 2014
	Yellow Bullhead	0 lbs., 9 oz. (c)	Beaver Creek (Knoxville)	Dan Pluff	September 17, 2013
GAR	Longnose Gar Longnose Gar	45 lbs., 8 oz. (i)	Kentucky Reservoir	Kirk Wood Alex Bailey	October 7, 2015
	Shortnose Gar	8 lbs., 4 oz. (i)	Chickamauga Reservoir	Scott Simmons	April 15, 1984
	Spotted Gar	12 lbs., 0 oz. (i)	Reelfoot Lake	Jim Ulerick	April 14, 2013
Other	**American Eel	4 lb., .20 oz.(a)	Kentucky Reservoir (Duck River)	Evan Mercer	June 9, 2018
	Bowfin	11 lbs., 11 oz. (i)	Reelfoot Lake	Buckley Pepper	December 15, 2021
	Central Stoneroller	5 oz. (h)	Doe River	Rex Tims	November 6, 1997
	Creek Chub	.10 oz. (*)	West Fork Drake Creek	Jake Andrew Bradford Wade	February 9, 2018
	Freshwater Drum	29 lbs., 1 oz. (i)	Kentucky Reservoir	Andrew Pruitt	March 25, 2017
	Golden Shiner	11 oz. (i)	Kentucky Reservoir	Billy Roberson	January 19, 2016
	Quillback Carpsucker	6 lbs., 5 oz. (i)	Boone Reservoir	Danny Tipton	May 15, 2020
	River Carpsucker	8 lbs., 1 oz. (i)	Cordell Hull Reservoir	Brandon Nixon	May 2, 2020
	Gizzard Shad	2 lbs., 14 oz. (k)	Kentucky Reservoir	Billy Roberson	April 18, 2013
	Skipjack Herring	2 lbs., 15 oz. (k)	Duck River	Billy Roberson	December 14, 2015
	Paddlefish	120 lbs. (h)	Center Hill Res. (Bluehole)	John T. Johnson	March 23, 1982
	Spotted Sucker	2 lbs., 15 oz. (k)	Chickamauga Reservoir	Heath Jordan	January 29, 2021
	Northern Hogsucker	1 lb., 10 oz.(i)	Ky. Res.-Standing Rock Creek	Dale E. Brook	Aug 9, 1996
	Tilapia (Nile)	9 lbs., 8 oz. (i)	Old Hickory Reservoir	Steve Creekmore	December 2, 2017
Method (dipping) no longer recognized *In 2021, the American Eel was placed on the state list as “In Need of Management” under rule 1660-01-32. Because of this, this species will not be recognized for future records.

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: 4 lbs., 12 oz. Waterbody: Ft. Patrick Henry Reservoir (Boone tailwater) Angler: Palmer M. Tipton Date: July 22, 2023

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 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