Georgia Bass Slam
About a month ago Rodney Tumlin, Georgia Trout Unlimited chairman, suggested that I write about the Georgia DNR’S Bass Slam.
The International Game Fish Association recognizes anglers in eight categories with three levels of Grand Slams, in both fly fishing and conventional tackle. The IGFA categories are: Billfish, inshore, offshore, salmon, shark, trout, tuna and bass.
If the angler catches three different species of a group in 24 hours it is a Grand Slam. Four species in 24 hours is a Super Grand Slam and five species in 24 hours is a Fantasy Grand Slam. I have done the Trout Grand Slam a couple of times, catching a brook, brown and rainbow trout all in the same day, and the Bass Grand Slam with a largemouth, spotted and white bass.
I assume that since the state of Georgia gives an angler a complete year to qualify, that is why it is called a Bass Slam, not a Grand Slam.
There are quite a few types of bass in Georgia. Some are true black bass and some are actually members of the sunfish family that are known as bass. Members of the Morone family of temperate bass are the true basses. The Morones in Georgia are the striped bass, white bass, hybrid bass and yellow bass. The Morone family is not part of the Georgia Slam. (As a note, the IGFA includes members of the Morone family in their Bass Grand Slam).
The group of basses that are part of the Georgia Bass Slam are the black basses. These fish have a distinct shape and are members of the sunfish family.
The shadow bass, the rock bass as well as the warmouth bass are just sunfish and some of their common names end in bass. These three fish have larger mouths than most of the sunfish and are not included in the Bass Slam.
The fish in the Georgia Bass Slam are: the largemouth, shoal, spotted, redeye, smallmouth, Suwannee, Chattahoochee, Tallapoosa, Altamaha, and Bartram’s bass.
Following are rules for qualifying for the Georgia Bass Slam:
Species — Catch 5 of the 10 eligible Georgia black bass species.
Legal Catch — Fish must be legally caught from Georgia waters where you have permission to fish. Fish will also be accepted if they are caught on public boundary waters where a reciprocal fishing license agreement is in place with neighboring states.
Length Limits — In waters where length limits apply, the fish must be of legal size to be eligible. If there is no minimum length limit, the fish must be at least 8 inches long to be recognized for the Slam.
Photos — Take several quality photos. Please include at least one photo of you with the fish, one side photo of the fish on a measuring board or next to a measuring tape or ruler. Any other photos you think may help in confirming the identification of the fish.
Time frame — Fish must be caught within the time frame of a calendar year. So, anglers who wish to get recognized for a Georgia Bass Slam for that year must catch 5 of the 10 eligible black bass species and submit their information by midnight Dec. 31 of that calendar year.
Submit information — Email the photos, along with your name, DNR Customer Number, length of the fish, weight (if available), and the county and water body in which it was caught to Georgia.bassslam@dnr.ga.gov. If you are unsure of the bass species, you can still submit the fish and DNR will identify it from the photos and location information provided.
What you will get — Anglers that successfully catch 5 eligible species and submit all required information will receive a personalized certificate, two passes to the Go Fish Education Center and some fantastic and fun stickers (for vehicle windows/bumpers) to advertise your brag-worthy achievement.
All successful submissions for the calendar year will go into a drawing for an annual grand prize. Anglers will be recognized on the DNR website, at the Go Fish Education Center, and through a variety of social media platforms.
Rome based anglers can catch a largemouth, spotted and redeye bass in the Coosa watershed and travel south to catch a Tallapoosa Bass in the Tallapoosa River, which is a Coosa tributary. With four species caught, it is a matter of deciding where to fish next. Smallmouth can be found in the Toccoa River watershed, the Little Tennessee River watershed and in the Dade County area.
Most of the remainder of the Bass Slam group are found in the watersheds of various rivers north of the fall line. The Suawanee Bass is only found south of the fall line in three river basins in southeast Georgia.
You too can be recognized as a Georgia Bass Slam holder, just go fishing. By the way, Rodney Tumlin did it, why not you?
Paul Diprima of the Trout Unlimited Cohutta Chapter can be reached at Pauldiprima@ aol.com. The opinions in Talking Trout are his own. Unless specifically stated, they do not reflect the thoughts or policies of TU on
the state or national level.