A new Tennessee State Record fish has been caught in Old Hickory Lake.  Barry Parker from LaFollette, Tennessee caught a record 6 lb. 5.5 oz, 20.5 inch tilapia, around the Gallatin Steam Plant on 12/27/2016.  Barry was using a night crawler and caught 74 more that day!

It it is not a native Tennessee fish, but it is one that seems to have gained a foothold in at least portion’s of Old Hickory Lake in Middle Tennessee. For several years now, anglers have been catching lots of these easy non-natives that most of of us see as fillets in local grocery stores.

These tropical fish are commonly stocked in farm ponds to provide baitfish for bass during summer months when they reproduce frequently and in large numbers. How they are surviving in Old Hickory is a bit of mystery, other than than the Gallatin Fossil Plant (more commonly referred to by anglers as Gallatin Steam Pant) sends out enough warm water in the winter that these tropical fish may have like found conditions, at least for now, that get them through even our tough winters.