POWERGRAMS

44 Seven years ago, James Bramlett pulled a 69-pound, 9.8-ounce striped bass out of the Black Warrior River in a boat across from Gorgas Steam Plant on the Bankhead Reservoir. His fish beat by 3 pounds the world record held for more than 20 years, and beat the state record by nearly 15 pounds. The previous Alabama record was a 55-pounder caught on Thurlow Reservoir in 1955 by Charles Totty. "When I caught the fish and put it in the boat, I knew I had a state record, but I didn't know it would be a world record," Bramlett said soon after catching the big fish on a 50-pound test line on Feb. 28, 2013. "People tell me I'm famous and I tell them I just caught a famous fish." Lake Logan Martin was the setting when Daniel Watson used fly tackle and 12-pound line to catch a 6-pound, 5-ounce spotted bass on Oct. 9, 1985, for a world record. Peter Kramer on Jan. 24, 1997, used a 6-pound line and fly tackle to catch a world- record 4-pound, 8-ounce striper at Logan Martin. On June 11, 2007, Karmon Larkin Butler caught a 31-pound, 15-ounce striper at Smith Lake, setting the male "small fry" world record (for youths ages 15 and under). Two more global marks for male small fry were set when Jody Purnell caught a 2-pound, 12-ounce striped bass on Aug. 25, 2007, then a 3-pound, 8-ounce striper on April 12, 2008, both at Smith Lake. On April 11, 2009, Ashley Cooper caught a 34-pound, 4-ounce striped bass at Lake Martin, setting the female small fry world record. Then there's a slew of state records. Lake Martin was home to the state's biggest white crappie, a 4-pound, 9-ounce beauty pulled in by Jeremy White in 2000. A 70-pound grass carp caught at Martin was the record for 13 years until it was beaten by a Guntersville catch in 2012. The largest spotted bass ever recorded in Alabama was caught by Phillip Terry in 1978 on Smith Lake. It weighed 8 pounds and 15 ounces. On June 24, 1980, Julia Hurley caught a 10-pound, 14-ounce walleye on Weiss Lake, which remains the state record. A longnose gar caught in 1985 by Gary Smyth at Lake Jordan weighed in at 32 pounds, 14 ounces. While only alligator gar have a size or bag limit in Alabama (one per day), the similar paddlefish is an endangered species and must be immediately returned to the water. In 2012 on Holt Reservoir, the mark for blue catfish was eclipsed by 9 pounds when John Paul Nichols caught a 120-pound, 4-ounce monster. From 1984 through 1987, the state record largemouth bass belonged to fisherman Allan Bryan, who caught a 14-pound, 11-ounce giant in Lake Logan Martin on Oct. 10, 1984. Most anglers who caught a record-breaker were merely out on the waters for relaxation, maybe to top off a fun day with something for the supper table. The realization they netted one for the ages is usually almost too much to believe. "When I was a kid, I dreamed about this," Bramlett said of his record striper. "I dreamed about having a state record. Well, it took me 65 years and thousands of fish to do it, but I did." For information about Alabama Power lakes, go to https://apcshorelines.com/. For information about fishing restrictions and size limits, visit https://www.outdooralabama.com/ fishing/freshwater-fishing-creel-and-size-limits. By Chuck Chandler These are ones that didn't get away RECREATION

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