BY THE NUMBERS
18.38 Weight in pounds of the previous Georgia state-record brown trout from 2001
42.06 Weight in pounds of the world-record brown trout caught in New Zealand in 2013
48 Miles of water holding trout on the Chattahoochee River below Buford Dam
Chad Doughty of Winder caught a state-record brown trout measuring 31 1/2 inches from the Chattahoochee River on July 27.
The 27-year-old angler was fishing from a kayak downstream of Buford Dam when he hooked the trout. The fish hit a Rooster Tail in-line spinner fished on spinning tackle with 6-pound test line. Doughty fought the fish for 45 minutes before finally landing it.
The trout ran downstream after striking the lure and threatened to take all the line off the angler’s reel. Doughty finally had to abandon his kayak and fight the fish on foot.
The huge brown trout was the first fish hooked during the trip, and Doughty wanted to keep fishing. Fortunately, his companions convinced him he might have a state record. The group instead went looking for a set of scales certified by the Georgia Department of Agriculture to weigh the fish.
The Department of Natural Resources requires that any fish submitted for state records must be weighed on certified scales. The fish tipped the scales at 20 pounds, 14 ounces.
Doughty’s fish broke the record by 2 pounds and 8 ounces. Charlie Ford of Rome caught that fish from the Chattahoochee in 2001.
Brown trout are native to Europe, but were introduced into the United States as early as 1880. The fish have been present in Georgia since at least the 1930s.
Browns now are found throughout the range of trout water in North Georgia. The Chattahoochee River has produced a number of the fish that weighed in excess of 10 pounds.
Brown trout usually are the largest trout found in streams because of their carnivorous behavior. Once they get big enough to eat other fish, browns grow rapidly.
More information on Georgia’s state-record fish can be found at georgiawildlife.com/fishing. Then click the link for Angler Resources.
