Jerry Porter and his West Virginia-record black crappie. (Photo courtesy of West Virginia Division of Natural Resources)
May 16, 2024
By Game & Fish
No matter where you go crappie fishing, the new state-record black crappie caught recently in West Virginia would be considered a jumbo slab anywhere.
The record fish, caught May 7 by Jerry Porter of Harts, W.Va., weighed 3.6 pounds, according to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, beating the previous record by a half-pound. Porter used a minnow-tipped jig on 6-pound test line.
New Crappie Record is Set Again Porter’s catch marks the fourth time a record has been set for the species. The WVDNR established state-record categories for five new species in 2024, including the black crappie.
The new record, which measured 17.7 inches, was caught at East Lynn Lake in Wayne County. WVDNR assistant district fisheries biologist Jake Whalen confirmed the record black crappie.
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The previous state record was a 3.15-pound, 17.76-inch crappie caught in 2024 by Dwight Priestley of Alum Creek at Woodrum Lake in Jackson County. Priestley’s record for length still stands.
Redear Sunfish and Redhorse Sucker Porter’s black crappie is the third confirmed state record catch reported by the WVDNR so far in 2025. Other record-breaking catches include a 24.57-inch, 5.75-pound redhorse sucker and 12.44-inch, 1.60-pound redear sunfish, both reported in April.
On April 22, John Plott of Oak Hill, W.Va., broke his own state record for redear sunfish length record by catching a 12.44-inch, 1.60-pound fish at Plum Orchard Lake in Fayette County. Plott’s 1.75-pound weight record for redear sunfish still stands. He caught the fish using a nightcrawler.
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On the same day, Jason Floyd of Washington, W.Va., set a new state record for redhorse sucker after catching a 24.57-inch, 5.75-pound fishnmat the Belleville Lock and Dam on the Ohio River. He caught the fish using a FloBell Bottom Tackle swimbait and jighead on a 10-pound braided line.
Little Fish, Big Record Year in Georgia Josh Forsythe’s spotted sunfish set a Georgia record, the third time it’s been broken in less than a year. (Photo courtesy of Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division) For the third time in less than a year, Georgia has a new state-record spotted sunfish. Josh Forsythe of Homerville caught the latest record, a 13-ounce sunfish on May 5 from the Suwannee River. The previous record was 12 ounces, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division.
“My 5-year-old daughter and I were fishing for bream on one of my favorite rivers, the Suwannee, when I caught this spotted sunfish,” Forsythe said in a new release. “I have been fishing this river for more than 15 years and it is one of my favorite places to fish for good-sized bream, especially spotted sunfish. I recommend waiting until river levels are below 4-foot and using top water bugs to catch giants, but a beetle spin or even a cricket or a worm on a cork will work.”
Find Information about state-record fish at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/recordprogram/rules
Teen Breaks Missouri Redear Mark Riley Isaacs, 17, and his state-record redear sunfish. (Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation) Riley Isaacs of Bradleyville, Mo., was bowfishing at Lake Taneycomo April 18 when he shot a 2-pound, 3-ounce redear sunfish, the state’s new alternative-methods record, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. The previous record was 2-2, also caught at Taneycomo in 2022.
Isaacs was originally guiding a bowfishing group targeting carp but had to cut the trip short due to incoming storms. “We sat at the boat ramp for about 30 minutes and realized the storms had passed by, so we decided to put the boat back in and play around for an hour or two,” Isaacs recalled. “The first flat we pulled up on, she was waiting there.”
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