Fisherman’s hefty sunfish is biggest ever caught in Georgia. But what about the world?
When Lester Roberts hauled his record-breaking redbreast sunfish out of a Georgia river and into the boat, he told Georgia Outdoor News he had never seen anything like it.
“I swung him in the boat, and we couldn’t believe just how big he was,” Roberts, a Blackshear resident, told the outlet.
His catch was no small feat. The 1-pound, 12-ounce fish shattered the state’s record and will give the world record a run for its money, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Redbreast sunfish are found in the eastern United States and Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico drainage, according to the Georgia Aquarium. They live in rocky and sandy pools of creeks and rivers.
Roberts caught his fish on May 7 during a bass tournament with his friend on the Satilla River near Folkston, according to Georgia Outdoor News. When the sunfish snagged the line, he figured it was a hungry bass.
The catch beat out Georgia’s previous redbreast sunfish record from 1998, which weighed 1 pound, 11 ounces, according to the DNR.
“Georgia waters are on a ROLL as anglers continue to reel in record fish,” the DNR said in a release about Roberts’ catch.
On top of breaking the state record, Roberts’ fish may also tie the certified world record for largest caught redbreast sunfish.
“My fish weighs approximately 103 kilograms more than the current world record, so I’m looking forward to trying and getting it confirmed as a world record,” Roberts told Georgia Outdoor News.
The standing world record redbreast sunfish was caught by Alvin Buchanan in 1984 in Florida’s Suwannee River, according to the International Game Fish Association. The fish weighed 1 pound and 12 ounces.
According to IGFA guidelines, a record-breaking redbreast sunfish must weigh at least 2 ounces more than the previous record. Since Roberts’ fish also weighed 1 pound, 12 ounces, he would tie the world record.
Roberts’ world-record tie is pending, according to the DNR.
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Fisherman’s hefty sunfish is biggest ever caught in Georgia. But what about the world?."
