PA Angler's giant flathead catfish could shatter record
May 29, 2020 19:09:39 #
greenfrog
Loc: Central NJ
Angler's giant flathead catfish could shatter record
Pete Thomas 6 hrs ago
A Pennsylvania angler, using a trout head for bait, caught a 56.3-pound flathead catfish last Sunday night to set a pending state record for the species.
Jonathan Pierce reeled the monstrous flathead from the Schuylkill River after it devoured the bait and “took off like a torpedo,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I had my drag tight, and it was still pulling line.”
Pierce, 34, a father of four from Roxborough, kept the fish alive overnight in a 45-gallon aerated plastic container so it could be weighed Monday on a certified scale. The fish was released back into the river after the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission took measurements.
If Pierce’s record submission is approved by the PFBC – the process can take days or weeks – the catch will shatter the record of 50 pounds, 7 ounces, set in 2019 on the Susquehanna River.
It’ll also become the largest fish on the PFBC’s list of rod-and-reel fishing records. (As of Friday morning, a 54-pound, 3-ounce muskellunge caught in 1924 topped the list.)
Pierce, who was using a 10-foot rod and baitcaster reel, told Penn Live that he hooked the flathead on his first cast after arriving at his fishing spot at 8:30 p.m.
The angler, who releases all of the flathead catfish he catches, keeps trout for table fare and sometimes uses their heads as catfish bait.
The giant flathead, after its initial run, swam into a rocky snag and held firm for 2-3 minutes. Pierce loosened the reel’s drag to take pressure off the fish, and it swam free of the rocks, allowing for an easier fight.
Eight minutes later it was netted by Pierce’s girlfriend, and Pierce knew immediately that it was record-size, and took the necessary steps to keep it alive overnight.
He was so excited that he hardly slept.
–Images of pending Pennsylvania-record flathead catfish are courtesy of Jonathan Pierce
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/angler-s-giant-flathead-catfish-could-shatter-record/ar-BB14LKBh
Pete Thomas 6 hrs ago
A Pennsylvania angler, using a trout head for bait, caught a 56.3-pound flathead catfish last Sunday night to set a pending state record for the species.
Jonathan Pierce reeled the monstrous flathead from the Schuylkill River after it devoured the bait and “took off like a torpedo,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I had my drag tight, and it was still pulling line.”
Pierce, 34, a father of four from Roxborough, kept the fish alive overnight in a 45-gallon aerated plastic container so it could be weighed Monday on a certified scale. The fish was released back into the river after the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission took measurements.
If Pierce’s record submission is approved by the PFBC – the process can take days or weeks – the catch will shatter the record of 50 pounds, 7 ounces, set in 2019 on the Susquehanna River.
It’ll also become the largest fish on the PFBC’s list of rod-and-reel fishing records. (As of Friday morning, a 54-pound, 3-ounce muskellunge caught in 1924 topped the list.)
Pierce, who was using a 10-foot rod and baitcaster reel, told Penn Live that he hooked the flathead on his first cast after arriving at his fishing spot at 8:30 p.m.
The angler, who releases all of the flathead catfish he catches, keeps trout for table fare and sometimes uses their heads as catfish bait.
The giant flathead, after its initial run, swam into a rocky snag and held firm for 2-3 minutes. Pierce loosened the reel’s drag to take pressure off the fish, and it swam free of the rocks, allowing for an easier fight.
Eight minutes later it was netted by Pierce’s girlfriend, and Pierce knew immediately that it was record-size, and took the necessary steps to keep it alive overnight.
He was so excited that he hardly slept.
–Images of pending Pennsylvania-record flathead catfish are courtesy of Jonathan Pierce
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/angler-s-giant-flathead-catfish-could-shatter-record/ar-BB14LKBh
May 29, 2020 19:12:37 #
May 29, 2020 19:41:28 #
May 29, 2020 20:15:41 #
May 29, 2020 21:56:56 #
Great catch ! To all who read this please remember if you need a certified scale the nearest hospital's morgue has one. NJ Fish and Game told Al Mc Reynolds that very fact the night he caught a world record striped bass in Atlanta City. Good luck!
May 29, 2020 22:02:59 #
Wow.... Congrats!.....wish I can catch something, even a 5 pounder would be awesome!.....any fish!....Congrats again!
May 30, 2020 07:47:59 #
May 30, 2020 18:14:46 #
my congrats for not only catching a new record whopper, but insuring it lives for another day on its release. Way to go, bro!!
May 31, 2020 10:39:27 #
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