In this 2011 photo, Steve Norris holds a world-record freshwater drum he caught on a 12-pound test line just below Chickamauga Dam in May of that year.
Chattanooga's Steve Norris brushed off his latest Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame line-class world record.
"It's really not that big a deal. I've had 20 of those," the 67-year-old Walmart retiree said Tuesday. "Fishing is just something I truly love to do."
Some of his sport fishing line-class records have been broken through the years, including a couple he reset himself. The newest one certified by the Hall World Record Committee was a 22-inch spotted bass he caught on Nov. 29 in Chickamauga Lake at the mouth of Soddy Creek. The category is catch-and-release for 8-pound-test line, all tackle, in Division I: rod and reel.
"It's a length record. The weight doesn't count," Norris said, noting that he did weigh the fish before returning it to the water. "I think it was 3 pounds, 10 ounces. It seemed to have features of both a spotted bass - the Northern (Kentucky) variety - and a smallmouth."
He's so familiar with the records of species he sees and the certification process that he almost automatically made the necessary photographs, one of him with the fish and another with it beside his metal yardstick, and submitted the catch as a potential record.
The announcement release from the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame said the photo of Norris and his record bass will be displayed in its museum records gallery and the record will be updated in the quarterly publication "The Splash" and in the organization's World Record Book.
"I'm glad they have the catch-and-release records now," Norris said. "That keeps more fish in the water for others to enjoy."
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.