A bass tournament angler in East Tennessee reeled in the catch of his life, etching his name into the Tennessee record books with a new state record fish.
Brandon Hollaway of Gray, Tn., landed a five pound, eight ounce Quillback Carpsucker on Boone Lake on Saturday evening. The fish has been certified as a new state record by TWRA biologists.
While cranking a Bill Norman DD-22 over a rock pile in 35 feet of water, Mr. Holloway felt the fish hit. “I thought I had a six to seven pound largemouth bass,” he said. “I got it up to the top and netted it and I didn’t know what I had.”
Mr. Holloway began texting pictures of the fish to other tournament fishermen and no one could identify the fish. Keeping the fish alive, Holloway found the TWRA hosted webpage of - TNfish.org - that aided him in making a positive ID.
TWRA fisheries biologists John Hammonds and Shaun Ramsey met with Mr. Holloway and made the official certification.
The previous state record Quillback Carpsucker of four pounds, two ounces, was landed by Roy Hawk on the Holston River in February, 2010.
Mr. Holloway is looking for a taxidermist to mount his record catch. He can be reached via email at simplyfishin88@gmail.com.