Dave Taylor set a new Pennsylvania state record earlier this month by catching a 36-pound, two-ounce channel catfish during a fishing tournament on the Mon River near Pittsburgh.
At first, Taylor thought the fish was a blue catfish, which can also grow to impressive sizes. It wasn’t until the morning weigh-in that it became clear the catch might be a record-breaking channel catfish.
“If you’re going to set a state record, you have to beat it by two ounces. Not only did he beat it by two ounces, he smashed it. And that’s just incredible,” Tim Reddinger, owner of Reddi Bait, said.
Making the record official required two bait shops and a conservation officer to certify the weight, as neither scale could print a receipt. Taylor emphasized that keeping the fish healthy was his top priority, even if it meant releasing it and giving up the record.
In the end, the catch was certified and officially broke the previous record, set in 1991, by nine ounces. The fish was eventually released back into the water.