Record fish caught in Tennessee

Written by:
October 21, 2022
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Record fish caught in Tennessee

Anglers the world over gather regularly for fishing derbies to see who can land the biggest catch. But record-breaking fish can be caught at anytime, weighed on an International Game Fish Association-certified scale at any number of tackle shops or marinas, and compared to the IGFA's online records database. Sport-fishing enthusiasts can even have their own scales certified by the IGFA for a $40 fee.

compiled a list of record fish caught in Tennessee using data from . Fish pictured are not the actual record catch. Keep reading to see which bodies of water in your state hold some of the most massive fish around.

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Rostislav Stefanek // Shutterstock

Bighead Carp

- Weight: 90 lbs 0 oz
- Location: Guntersville Reservoir
- Record set by Jeffery J. Rorex in 2005
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Alus164 // Wikimedia Commons

Bigmouth Buffalo

- Weight: 62 lbs 0 oz
- Location: J. Percy Priest Reservoir
- Record set by Jeff Wilkins in 2010
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USFWS National Image Library // Wikimedia Commons

Black Buffalo

- Weight: 55 lbs 8 oz
- Location: Cherokee Reservoir
- Record set by Ed H. McLain in 1984
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Rostislav Stefanek // Shutterstock

Black Bullhead

- Weight: 3 lbs 6 oz
- Location: Emberton's Pond
- Record set by Hunter Chance Gaither in 1997
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Steve Oehlenschlager // Shutterstock

Black Crappie

- Weight: 4 lbs 4 oz
- Location: Browns Creek Lake
- Record set by Clyde Freeman in 1985
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M Huston // Shutterstock

Blue Catfish

- Weight: 112 lbs 0 oz
- Location: Cumberland River - Lock C
- Record set by Robert E. Lewis in 1998
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dcwcreations // Shutterstock

Bluegill Sunfish

- Weight: 3 lbs 0 oz
- Location: Fall Creek
- Record set by Thelma Grissom in 1977
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dcwcreations // Shutterstock

Bluegill Sunfish

- Weight: 3 lbs 0 oz
- Location: Farm Pond
- Record set by Brad Pendergrass in 1987
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Miroslav Halama // Shutterstock

Bowfin

- Weight: 15 lbs 7 oz
- Location: Reelfoot Lake
- Record set by Charles Aaron in 1983
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slowmotiongli // Shutterstock

Brook Trout

- Weight: 3 lbs 14 oz
- Location: Hiwassee River
- Record set by Jerry Wills in 1973
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slowmotiongli // Shutterstock

Brown Bullhead

- Weight: 2 lbs 14 oz
- Location: Chickamauga Reservoir
- Record set by John Thomas Hammond in 1980
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Rostislav Stefanek // Shutterstock

Brown Trout

- Weight: 28 lbs 12 oz
- Location: Clinch River
- Record set by Greg Ensor in 1988
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Rostislav Stefanek // Shutterstock

Carp

- Weight: 53 lbs 0 oz
- Location: Marrowbone Lake
- Record set by John R. Pepper, Jr. in 1997
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Michael Sundberg // Shutterstock

Chain Pickerel

- Weight: 7 lbs 7 oz
- Location: Kentucky Reservoir
- Record set by Burke Williams in 1991
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Channel Catfish

- Weight: 41 lbs 0 oz
- Location: Fall Creek Lake
- Record set by Clint Walters, Jr. in 1982
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CSNafzger // Shutterstock

Cutthroat Trout

- Weight: 0 lbs 6 oz
- Location: Obey River
- Record set by Philip Neyman in 1969
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M Huston // Shutterstock

Flathead Catfish

- Weight: 85 lbs 15 oz
- Location: Hiwassee River
- Record set by Larry Kaylor in 1993
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dmitro2009 // Shutterstock

Flier Sunfish

- Weight: 0 lbs 8 oz
- Location: Kentucky Reservoir
- Record set by Craig Ellis in 2001
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Roxana Gonzalez // Shutterstock

Freshwater Drum

- Weight: 54 lbs 8 oz
- Location: Nickajack Reservoir
- Record set by Benny Hull in 1972
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M Huston // Shutterstock

Golden Redhorse

- Weight: 2 lbs 15.5 oz
- Location: South Holston River
- Record set by W. Powell Partridge, Sr. in 2008
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Jason Patrick Ross // Shutterstock

Golden Shiner

- Weight: 0 lbs 15 oz
- Location: Chickamauga Reservoir
- Record set by Dave Littlejohn in 1999
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USFWS Mountain-Prairie // Wikimedia Commons

Goldeye

- Weight: 0 lbs 14 oz
- Location: Cumberland River
- Record set by Harold A. Sanders in 1993
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M Huston // Shutterstock

Green Sunfish

- Weight: 1 lbs 4 oz
- Location: North Cross Creek
- Record set by Dwight M. Lehman in 1991
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Pi-Lens // Shutterstock

Lake Trout

- Weight: 22 lbs 2 oz
- Location: Watauga Reservoir
- Record set by Jack Forbes in 2008
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Pierre Rebollar // Shutterstock

Largemouth Bass

- Weight: 14 lbs 8 oz
- Location: Sugar Creek
- Record set by James "Logue" Barnett in 1954
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Dewitt // Shutterstock

Longear Sunfish

- Weight: 0 lbs 13 oz
- Location: Pond
- Record set by Kay Forsberg in 1985
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Mikhail Blajenov // Shutterstock

Longnose Gar

- Weight: 38 lbs 3 oz
- Location: Barkley Reservoir
- Record set by Mathew A. Norton in 2002
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NOAA // Wikimedia Commons

Mooneye

- Weight: 1 lbs 4 oz
- Location: Hiwassee River
- Record set by Steve D. Moss in 2005
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M Huston // Shutterstock

Muskellunge

- Weight: 42 lbs 8 oz
- Location: Norris Reservoir
- Record set by Kyle F. Edwards in 1983
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FedBul // Shutterstock

Northern Pike

- Weight: 24 lbs 8 oz
- Location: South Holston Reservoir
- Record set by Frank Childers in 1995
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Saran Jantraurai // Shutterstock

Paddlefish

- Weight: 75 lbs 0 oz
- Location: Center Hill Reservoir
- Record set by Shane S. Henry in 1984
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Glass and Nature // Shutterstock

Pumpkinseed Sunfish

- Weight: 0 lbs 5 oz
- Location: Dogwood lake
- Record set by Lynn Middleton in 1998
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Rainbow Trout

- Weight: 16 lbs 15 oz
- Location: Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir
- Record set by Ronnie Rowland in 2002
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M Huston // Shutterstock

Redbreast Sunfish

- Weight: 1 lbs 5 oz
- Location: Holston River
- Record set by R. W. Gillespie in 1974
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Clint H // Shutterstock

Redear Sunfish

- Weight: 3 lbs 6 oz
- Location: Private Pond
- Record set by Annelise S. Houston in 1979
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David Cartier // Shutterstock

Redeye Bass

- Weight: 1 lbs 15 oz
- Location: Parksville Reservoir
- Record set by Harry E. Parker in 1991
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Duane Raver // Wikimedia Commons

River Carpsucker

- Weight: 1 lbs 9 oz
- Location: Pickwick Reservoir
- Record set by Dr. Jim Youmans in 1980
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Brian Gratwicke // Wikimedia Commons

River Redhorse

- Weight: 11 lbs 10 oz
- Location: Pigeon River
- Record set by David H. Ray in 2009
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Steve Brigman // Shutterstock

Rock Bass

- Weight: 2 lbs 8 oz
- Location: Stones River
- Record set by Bill Sanford in 1958
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Steve Oehlenschlager // Shutterstock

Sauger

- Weight: 7 lbs 6 oz
- Location: Kentucky Reservoir
- Record set by Rayford D. Voss in 1973
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RLS Photo // Shutterstock

Saugeye

- Weight: 10 lbs 12 oz
- Location: Melton Hill Reservoir
- Record set by Chris Vittetoe in 1998
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GUNAWAN SIDIK // Shutterstock

Shortnose Gar

- Weight: 6 lbs 6 oz
- Location: Kentucky Reservoir
- Record set by Kay Lynn Butterfield in 2001
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Duane Raver // Wikimedia Commons

Skipjack Herring

- Weight: 4 lbs 0 oz
- Location: Watts Bar Reservoir
- Record set by Chris Vittetoe in 2004
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CSNafzger // Shutterstock

Smallmouth Bass

- Weight: 11 lbs 15 oz
- Location: Dale Hollow Reservoir
- Record set by D. L. Hayes in 1955
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Ohio DNR // Wikimedia Commons

Smallmouth Buffalo

- Weight: 62 lbs 7 oz
- Location: Percy Priest Reservoir
- Record set by Jerry W. Young in 2001
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Sean McVey // Shutterstock

Spotted Bass

- Weight: 6 lbs 7 oz
- Location: Ocoee River
- Record set by Wesley Strader in 2010
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Vladimir Wrangel // Shutterstock

Spotted Gar

- Weight: 9 lbs 5 oz
- Location: Cross Creek
- Record set by Victor Robinson in 1999
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slowmotiongli // Shutterstock

Striped Bass

- Weight: 65 lbs 6 oz
- Location: Cordell Hull Reservoir
- Record set by Ralph H. Dallas in 2000
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wwwarjag //Shutterstock

Walleye

- Weight: 25 lbs 0 oz
- Location: Old Hickory Reservoir
- Record set by Mabry Harper in 1960
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Bclegg77 // Wikimedia Commons

Warmouth

- Weight: 1 lbs 12 oz
- Location: Nolichucky River
- Record set by Frank E. Garrett in 1984
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Apostrophe // Shutterstock

White Bass

- Weight: 5 lbs 10 oz
- Location: Mississippi River
- Record set by Bill Nelson in 2003
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Jennifer White Maxwell // Shutterstock

White Crappie

- Weight: 5 lbs 1 oz
- Location: Garner Brown's Pond
- Record set by Bill Allen in 1968
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Kevin H Knuth // Shutterstock

Yellow Bass

- Weight: 2 lbs 9 oz
- Location: Duck River
- Record set by John T. Chappell in 1998
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jpreat // Shutterstock

Yellow Bullhead

- Weight: 4 lbs 8 oz
- Location: Chickamauga Reservoir
- Record set by Jessie R. Johnson in 1979
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John Piekos // Shutterstock

Yellow Perch

- Weight: 2 lbs 2 oz
- Location: Parksville Lake
- Record set by Jackie V. Kersey in 2010

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