State Record WHAT????

So, here is the skinny.....  I went home to see the folks the weekend after Memorial Day.  I left late on Thursday from Alabama to make the 3.5 hour drive North into the mountains of Georgia, slept in Friday morning, and decided if I was going to get any fishing done, I better do it that Friday before everyone gets off work..  I hit one of my local holes in search of trout.  I love eating trout, probably my favorite, regardless of the fact they are always stocked or recent holdovers.  Any who........the water is up from all the rain and the flow rate is pretty high.  Not good conditions for a good trout fishing trip but I press on anyway.  I go fishless through a very good section of water before I see a fish move on the bottom.  It looked like a pretty good fish but it wasn't a trout, which is odd, because that's all there ever is in this section of creek.  It had a walleye color but it's head was really big.  I take my nightcrawler and pitched it, and pitch it, and pitch it......till finally I feel the fish mouthing the bait.  I set the hook.........fish fights pretty good.........reel it up.......and this is what I get:

I have been fishing North Georgia mountain streams my whole life.  I have NEVER caught one before.  Lots of Redhorses or Hornyheads but never a true sucker fish such as this.  Apparently it's a pretty good specimen because the Tennessee state record weighed 2lbs and 9ozs compared this fish at 1lb 10ozs.  Its called a Northern Hogsucker and is native to North and North Central Georgia streams.  It's is more prevalent up north where it can reach weights of 4lbs or more.  We are at the very Southern tip of its effective range so it's not a very common species for anglers. 

I got to thinking.......I wonder if this might be a state record?  I couldn't find any documentation where a Georgia record had been kept.  Tennessee keeps a state record, why not Georgia?  I took the fish over to the Lake Burton Fish Hatchery and met with a guy named Johnlee Thompson.  A super nice guy who, with many laughs, weighted the ugly beast while I filled-out the proper paperwork.

Johnlee called me on that following Tuesday to tell me the biologist for the hatchery will not recognize my catch as a Georgia State Record BECAUSE no records currently exist for Northern Hogsuckers and they aren't going to start now.  Being the total hard headed individual I am.......NO wasn't an option.  I wanted a real answer, not just a simply blow off.  On to the next rung up the ladder......another biologist, this time in Social Circle, Ga by the name of Patrick O'Rourk(pronounced O'Rook).  After a brief conversation with Patrick, he gave me two more pieces of information:

1)  The reason they most likely won't acknowledge my catch is because it's simply to much work to record every species record catch.  There are thousands of different species of fish in Georgia, and to record a catch for each one would be a monumental job.(I took this as a C'mon man, I don't want to be the one who passes this along)

2)  The Northern Hogsucker is not a common or shall I say, sought after fish species.  Georgia does recognize two types of shad, bowfin, and other non-game species so........Yet another blow off. 

While I can appreciate the workload these guys have, it's mostly up to the fisherman to record and process a record fish properly.  Many times, this never involves a biologist or DNR officer.  When it does, it usually makes their day, to see record catches, and be around extremely happy individuals.  Essentially, I don't get it.  Why wouldn't you want to recognize as many species as possible.  It gets folks out looking for that next record, makes that record more possible, and that is good for everyone, including the DNR(buying licenses).  I will post an update when I hear back..........I am expecting a "sorry, but we don't recognize that species" response but hey, maybe I am wrong.  Update to follow!!!