There is no official record for robust redhorse. But ever since the chunky, bronze suckers were rediscovered in Georgia in 1991, DNR hasn’t encountered a bigger one than the whopper staff caught and released on the Savannah River last month.
On May 14, Freshwater Biodiversity Program technicians Percy Knight, Rachel Byrne and Gina Montibrown were sampling for spawning robust redhorse at Augusta Shoals, a rocky stretch below a diversion dam near Augusta. The work shared with South and North Carolina and other partners is assessing populations of the rare species, as well as spawning times and habitats.
Eyes grew wide when the pontoon’s electrofishing charge rolled the massive female to the surface. She weighed 20.8 pounds and measured just over 31 inches long.
The fish wasn’t aged, program manager Matthew Rowe said, but given the size “it could be over 30 years old.” The oldest robust redhorse on record is 27.
Watch the redhorse being returned to the river (Percy Knight/GaDNR)
The catch also raised weight and length maximums for the state-protected fish.
Afterward, the hefty redhorse was eased back into the river, where she’ll munch on more mollusks, crayfish and aquatic insects. And get even bigger.
DID YOU KNOW …
- Robust redhorse have large, molar-like teeth that it uses to crush and eat snails, mussels and other invertebrates.
- These are potamodromous fish: They are migratory yet spend all of their life in fresh water. But that doesn’t mean they don’t swim far. In the lower Savannah and Ocmulgee rivers, they have been documented moving more than 60 miles.
- Robust redhorse are protected. Bowfishers should look for features – a long dorsal fin base, barbels and no big, fleshy lips – that help distinguish this rare species from carp.