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Angler Lands 53.5-Pound Record Blue Cat on Lake Hartwell
A Georgia angler fighting cancer found an unexpected boost of hope on Lake Hartwell when he landed a giant blue catfish that now stands as the reservoir’s official record.
Robert Jason Bailey, 52, has spent most of his life fishing the sprawling 56,000 acre lake on the Georgia-South Carolina line. After being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2024, he began leaning even more on time outdoors, especially trips with his longtime friend Dwayne “Doodle” Peppers. The two fish, Peppers’ dock, often made a habit of targeting big blues.
“Doodle tries to get me out of the house as much as possible,” Bailey said. “We have been friends for a long time, and he has been there for me through this whole thing.”
On the morning of October 24, the pair settled onto the dock with their Mad Katz rods, fresh blueback herring, and the same setup that has produced several large fish for them in recent years. Peppers even surprised Bailey with a new Mad Katz outfit last year after hearing about his diagnosis.
“We started catching medium-sized cats and then really started focusing on big ones,” Bailey said. “That morning I used thirty-pound mono and a four-ought circle hook with a head and gut section of herring.”
Their lines were set for only a few minutes when Bailey’s reel began clicking. What started as a few taps on the line turned into a blistering run in about a second.
“That catfish took off like nothing I have ever heard before,” Bailey said. “It ripped off half the line on my reel and just kept going.”
Bailey fought the fish for roughly 30 minutes, working it to the dock several times before it surged back toward deep cover. Brush, trees, and the dock pilings made the fight even harder as the fish dove beneath the platform.
“Doodle thought I had a turtle for a while,” Bailey joked. “But once I got it close the second time and saw it under the dock, I knew it was big.”
Peppers eventually managed to net the catfish head first, and the two men sat in stunned silence on the dock, staring at the massive blue cat. Bailey stopped fishing immediately afterward because he had to get to a medical appointment in Athens.
After a few phone calls, they were directed to the Georgia DNR’s Burton Trout Hatchery in Clarkesville for an official weight and measurement. The fish measured 45.25 inches and weighed 53 pounds, 8 ounces, breaking the previous Lake Hartwell blue catfish record from 2003 by more than 20 pounds.
“People online were saying they caught bigger ones, but you have to get it weighed,” Bailey said. “My dad passed away last year and I wish he could have seen this. We used to fish together all the time.”
For Bailey, the record is more than a trophy. It is a reminder of why time on the water matters.
“There is not much better than catfishing with family and friends,” he said.
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