Fisherman lands mammoth bass at Tired Creek Lake

The following is reprinted with permission from

Georgia Outdoor News

BY DARYL KIRBY

Since opening to the public on Memorial Day weekend in 2018, a 960-acre recreational fishing lake named Tired Creek has been a fishing gem in extreme south Georgia. Big bass always get the attention of anglers, and Tired Creek Lake in Grady County is certainly producing big bass. The latest is a 13 3/4-lb. giant that when weighed on certified scales two weeks later at 13.66 pounds established a new lake record.

Timmy Manac, of Argyle, was fishing with his wife on Saturday, March 13, on what turned out to be a busy day on the lake.

“There were two bass tournaments going on that day, and I didn’t know it,” Timmy said. “My friend called and asked how we were doing, and I said, ‘There’s more boats in here than water turkeys right now.’ I was looking at my depthfinder, we were in 2 to 3 feet of water, and I said we’ve got to move off this edge. All these boats have the fish pushed back. I started throwing 15 to 20 yards off the bank, my casts were not hitting the bank. She was back off the edge in 4 to 5 feet of water. It worked out for sure.”Timmy caught the bass on the east side of the lake close to the bridge. The fish hit a black Zoom Trick Worm. He said it got more than a little hairy as he got the giant bass to the boat.

“My wife went to net the fish, and the net hit the line and the fish got around the trolling motor. I moved the rod to my right hand and was trying to lift the trolling motor up with my left, and then the fish wrapped up on a limb. I grabbed the line and it was slack, and I said, ‘Well, she’s gone.’ About that time I felt her pull. My first thought was to hand the pole to my wife and go down there and get her loose. I’ve done that on the Altamaha, swam done there and unwrapped a big flathead. I moved toward the back of the boat, and she just came off the limb. The fish was worn out by then, and I was able to scoop her up. I was so shook up by that point.

“I’ve been blessed to have caught a lot of 7- and 8-lb. fish and a few close to 10, but never one over the 10-lb. mark,” Timmy said. “I’ve fished hard. I’m 40 years old, and I’ve fished some of those lakes in Florida like Orange, and it’s been hard to find a lake that compares to those for big bass until Tired Creek came along. It’s just full of big bass.”

Asked what makes Tired Creek special in the big-bass category, and Timmy said he thinks it’s a combination of factors.

“That deep water with all the structure, and it’s full of baitfish—shiners or shad,” Timmy said, adding that he thinks the special limit on bass helps, too. “You can’t keep but five per person, and only one 16 inches or above. If people want to keep fish to eat, they keep those little ones, and that helps a lake. I caught one over 6 pounds after I caught that (13 3/4-lb.) fish.

Timmy knew he had a great bass, and certainly his personal best, but he wasn’t sure just how big it was.

“I’ve fished this lake a good bit, and I’ve caught some big fish out of there, up to almost 10 pounds. I’ve never kept one before, but I put her in the livewell. I had a friend fishing there and called him on the phone and said, ‘This is the biggest fish I’ve ever caught.’ I got over there to him later and got the first weight of 13-lbs., 12-ozs.”

Meanwhile, his friend took a picture that was quickly making the rounds through south Georgia. Timmy’s phone was quickly lighting up from friends and numbers he didn’t even recognize. Everyone wanted to see the bass, so after fishing Timmy stopped by Homerville so people could see it. They weighed it on three other scales in Homerville—two of the scales displayed weights in pound and ounce increments, and both read 13-lbs., 12-ozs. Another digital scale showed 13.69 pounds.

A few weeks later Timmy learned that there was an established lake record for Tired Creek. His taxidermist thawed the fish overnight, and on March 26, Timmy got a certified weight of 13.66 pounds, which converts to 13-lbs., 10.56-ozs. to set a new lake record for Tired Creek.

Timmy, who also has the Clinch County record buck, a 2018 bow-kill that’s the highest-scoring deer ever for Clinch, said he was hoping to crack that magical 13-lb. mark with his bass and make GON’s prestigious records of Georgia Biggest Bass. It lists more than 50 Georgia largemouth certified at 13 pounds and up. But Timmy is certainly not disappointed.

“I’m just blessed,” Timmy said.

The previous certified lake record for Tired Creek was caught by Cindy Horne on July 4, 2019. Cindy’s bass weighed 13-lbs., 6.72-ozs.

On March 26, 2018, the second day that Tired Creek Lake was open to public fishing, Sherry Vann, of Valdosta, caught a largemouth that on uncertified scales weighed 14 pounds.