Photo courtesy of PA Game Commission.<\/p>\n
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (EYT) \u2014 A Pennsylvania angler has officially entered the state record books after catching a 36-pound, 2-ounce Channel Catfish in the Allegheny River, breaking a record that had stood for 35 years.<\/p>\n
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced that David Taylor Jr., 44, of Munhall, Allegheny County, caught the record-breaking fish on Saturday, October 3, while participating in a fishing tournament.<\/p>\n
Taylor and his friend, Alex Atkinson, of Rillton, Westmoreland County, were competing in the Tri-State Hawg Hunters tournament when they began fishing below the Highland Park Lock and Dam near Sixmile Island.<\/p>\n
Shortly after 8 p.m., Atkinson noticed movement on Taylor\u2019s fishing line.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started reeling and I could tell right away it was a pretty big fish,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI was able to keep steady pressure on the line and keep reeling until the fish surfaced.\u201d<\/p>\n
Initially, Taylor believed he had caught a Blue Catfish because of the fish\u2019s appearance.<\/p>\n
However, during the tournament weigh-in the following morning, another angler suggested the fish might actually be an unusually large Channel Catfish.<\/p>\n
After examining the fish\u2019s anal fin, Taylor and Atkinson counted 26 rays, confirming it was a Channel Catfish.<\/p>\n
Realizing the fish could break Pennsylvania\u2019s existing record, Taylor began searching for a certified scale while keeping the catfish alive in his boat\u2019s livewell.<\/p>\n
The fish was first weighed at Reddi Bait and Tackle in Bridgewater, Beaver County, where it registered 36 pounds, 2 ounces.<\/p>\n
Taylor then contacted PFBC Waterways Conservation Officer Abigail Luteri to arrange an official weigh-in at Goodman\u2019s Bait and Tackle in Ford City, Armstrong County.<\/p>\n
At approximately 11:45 a.m. Sunday, October 4, the fish again weighed 36 pounds, 2 ounces, exceeding the previous Pennsylvania record by nine ounces.<\/p>\n
The former record had been set in 1991 by a Channel Catfish caught in the Lehigh Canal in Northampton County.<\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s fish also measured 42 inches long with a 26-inch girth.<\/p>\n
Despite the excitement surrounding the potential record, Taylor said keeping the fish alive remained his top priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her that my biggest concern was the health of the fish, and if I felt I had to, I would pull over and release the fish, even if it cost me a chance at the state record,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n
Following the official weigh-in and inspection, Taylor and Luteri traveled to a nearby access point along the Allegheny River, where the catfish was successfully released.<\/p>\n
The PFBC later reviewed Taylor\u2019s application, photographs, and supporting documentation before officially certifying the new state record.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything worked out in the end, and it feels incredible,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I\u2019ve always dreamed of catching a state record, but I thought it would be a Flathead Catfish because we catch so many big ones out here in Pittsburgh.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor credited Atkinson, the participating bait shops, and Officer Luteri for helping make the record possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just goes to show, you never know what\u2019s on the other side of that hook,\u201d he added. \u201cIt could be just another fish, or it could be life changing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anglers interested in pursuing state records can find official requirements and applications on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo courtesy of PA Game Commission. PITTSBURGH, Pa. (EYT) \u2014 A Pennsylvania angler has officially entered the state…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[22823,128058,28,28411,128059,30,29,128060],"class_list":["post-313667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-allegheny-river","tag-channel-catfish","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-fish-and-boat-commission","tag-pennsylvania-fishing","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-state-fishing-record"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}