For the second time in one week, the Alapaha River Redbreast record has been broken. On August 31, 2024 Craig James, along with his son Colt, caught this record panfish, edging out the previous record that was set only a few days prior.
James had never fished this river before, and the only reason he went there was due to a good friend named Jacob Crews. Crews actually set the Redbreast record the week prior, and had notified James just how great the fishing was.
Listening to his friend Crews, James and his son arrived at the river first thing in the morning. They proceeded to launch their two-man Crescent Crew kayak with hopes of catching tons of fish.
“So that’s what we did, just floated our way down river casting at anything that looked good. You know, I bet we caught 30 or 40 fish that day.” James tells Wired2Fish.
James continues by saying, “We continue working our way down river, and we get to a spot with a deep pool in the river bend. I felt like this was a good spot for bass, however we quickly hooked up with quality Redbreasts. I immediately catch the record, but before I can even unhook it, my son catches one that’s an ounce and a half behind mine.”
James and his son took the fish to the local post office. They weighed the fish on a certified scale, confirming James’ record catch. What makes this catch even more special is that he caught it on his own custom lure.
“I was fishing a popping bug called a Swamp Spider. I actually produce these lures through my company, GA Boy Lures. What makes this lure special compared to other foam bugs is its size. This one is much larger than your traditional popping bug, we actually call it the Big Back Swamp Spider.” James tells Wired2Fish.
James’ record fish will undoubtedly be remembered as a legendary capture, and we’re sure he will continue pulling big Redbreast out of this river for years to come. For more information on this story, check out James’ full Youtube video documenting this once in a lifetime catch.
