River monsters and other biggest fish caught in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania record flathead catfish

Jeff Bonawitz, of East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, and his nephew, Dylan, release the state-record flathead catfish back into the Susquehanna River.

A state-record flathead catfish was pulled from the Susquehanna River, near the Muddy Creek public access area in York County, on April 6. The catfish, weighing 50 pounds 7 ounces, was caught by Jeff Bonawitz, of East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County.

After taking some initial measurements in his boat, Bonawitz suspected the fish could be a contender for the state record, which had been previously set in 2006 when a 48-pound, 6-ounce flathead catfish was caught in Blue Marsh Spillway in Berks County.

Unable to immediately locate an operational certified scale on which to weigh the fish, Bonawitz kept the fish alive in an aerated container at his home until the following day. On April 7, the fish was officially weighed at Columbia Bait and Tackle located in Lancaster County, where it tipped the scales at 50 pounds, 7 ounces, unofficially setting a new state record for the species.

As is required for state record consideration, Bonawitz contacted Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission law enforcement officials and arranged for an in-person identification and examination of the fish. Waterways Conservation Officer Jeffrey Schmidt conducted the inspection and verified the weight.

A completed state record fish application, including color photographs, was reviewed by commission officials and confirmed.

State record fish are judged only by weight and must exceed the previous state record by at least 2 ounces.

After weighing the fish, Bonawitz and his nephew, Dylan, 8, released the flathead catfish alive back to the Susquehanna River beneath the Wrightsville Bridge.

“It was such an amazing fish,” he said. “I thought the best thing to do was put it back so that maybe the next guy could catch it. I have a feeling this record may not last very long.”

A fisheries survey crew from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources on August 30, 2018, pulled a 56.5-pound, 44-inch flathead catfish from a hoop net in the Susquehanna River less than a mile downriver of the Pennsylvania-Maryland state line.

In addition to being the largest catfish ever caught in the river, that flathead also was heavier than the largest record in the books maintained by the commission, which ranks angler record by the weight of the fish. That was a muskellunge weighing 54 pounds 3 ounces caught in 1924 in Conneaut Lake in Crawford County by Lewis Walker Jr., of Meadville.

State record lake trout

Keith Miller, 73, of Cranberry Township, Venango County, caught the state-record lake trout May 11 in Lake Erie.

Another state record set this year came on May 11 for angler Keith Miller, 73, of Cranberry Township, Venango County. He joined friends with God’s Grace Sport Fishing, a charter company, for a scouting trip for the upcoming summer fishing season on Lake Erie. Departing from the North East Marina in Erie County, Miller along with Captain Lane Brown and first mate Tom Thompson ventured 2-2.5 miles off shore, fishing in an area known as “The Mountain.”

At around 4:30pm, the boat was trolling above 55 feet of water when a fish struck on an Orange Crush UV Copper colored Michigan Stinger spoon on 30-pound braided line.

"I could tell it was a lot bigger than the ones we'd been catching," recalled Miller, who said the crew had already boated several lake trout in the 14-pound range earlier that day. "At first it was like dead weight, but then the fish started taking quite a bit of line and put up a really great fight."

After a 15-minute tug of war, Miller said, the large lake trout appeared at the surface of the water and the crew immediately suspected it could be a state record contender.

Upon boating the fish, a preliminary weight taken using a handheld scale indicated the lake trout was approximately 31 pounds. If accurate, Miller's catch was heavier than the previous state record lake trout weight of 29-pounds, 4-ounces, also caught in Lake Erie in 2012 by an angler from Nazareth, Northampton County.

The crew immediately pulled its remaining lines from the water and headed back to shore. The fish was transported to Poor Richard's Bait and Tackle in Fairview, where a certified scale is located. At 6:40 p.m. a weigh-in was conducted under the supervision of Waterways Conservation Officer Matthew Visosky, where the lake trout tipped the scales at 31 pounds 13 ounces, exceeding the previous record by 2 pounds 9 ounces. Miller’s fish measured 40-inches in length with a girth of 24.25-inches.

Upon weighing the lake trout, Miller turned the fish over to staff at Poor Richard's to be preserved in a freezer so that it can eventually be accurately replicated and mounted for display at the business.

"I live alone," said Miller. "If I put it at my house, nobody would ever see it and all it would do is collect dust. I also think records are made to be broken and this might not last very long. I suspect there are other lake trout in Lake Erie that would enjoy mine for a snack."

No other records have been set in the past few years, but here’s the full list of biggest fish caught in Pennsylvania, maintained by the commission:

Largemouth bass

Donald Shade, Waynesboro

11 pounds 3 ounces

Birch Run Reservoir, Adams County

1983

Rock bass

David Weber, Lake City

3 pounds 2 ounces

Elk Creek, Erie County

1971

Smallmouth bass

Robert Steelman, Havertown

8 pounds 8 ounces

Scotts Run Lake, Berks County

1997

State Record Striped Bass

Striped bass - inland

Robert Price, Huntingdon

53 pounds 12 ounces

Raystown Lake, Huntingdon County

1994

Striped bass - marine

Donald Clark, Boothwyn

53 pounds 13 ounces

Delaware River, Delaware County

1989

White bass

Robert Hornstrom, Meadville

4 pounds 0 ounces

Conneaut Lake, Crawford County

2002

Bluegill

Tom Twincheck, Blairsville

2 pounds 9 ounces

Keystone Lake, Armstrong County

1983

Carp

George Brown, Saltillo

52 pounds

Juniata River, Huntingdon County

1962

Bullhead catfish

Ian Radle, Palmerton

4 pounds 10 ounces

Beltzville Lake, Carbon County

2011

Channel catfish

Austin Roth III, Bowmanstown

35 pounds 3 ounces

Lehigh Canal, Northampton County

1991

Flathead catfish

Jeff Bonawitz, Lancaster

50 pounds 7 ounces

Susquehanna River, Lancaster County

2019

Crappie

Richard Pino, Covington

4 pounds 3 ounces

Hammond Lake, Tioga County

2000

Freshwater drum (sheepshead)

Tim Rogers, Finleyville

19 pounds 14 ounces

Monongahela River, Washington County

1994

Muskellunge

Lewis Walker Jr., Meadville

54 pounds 3 ounces

Conneaut Lake, Crawford County

1924

White perch

James Clark, Philadelphia

1 pounds 12 ounces

Delaware River, Delaware County

2008

Yellow perch

Brian Clark, Edinboro

2 pounds 14 ounces

Presque Isle Bay, Erie County

2016

Chain pickerel

Dave Wilson, Honesdale

8 pounds 15 ounces

Long Pond, Wayne County

2002

Northern pike

Carl Stoltz, Bradford

35 pounds

Allegheny Reservoir, McKean County

2003

Atlantic salmon

Atlantic salmon

Atlantic salmon (landlocked lake)

Brian Keller, Altoona

17 pounds 2 ounces

Raystown Lake, Huntingdon County

2001

Chinook salmon

Gregory Lasko, Erie

28 pounds 15 ounces

Lake Erie, Erie County

1990

Coho salmon

Jack Scheirer, McMurry

15 pounds 5 ounces

Lake Erie, Erie County

1985

Pink salmon

David Rabatin

4 pounds 8 ounces

Elk Creek, Erie County

1995

Sauger

Tim Waltz, Williamsport

4 pounds

Susquehanna River, Lycoming County

2001

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/420176

American shad

Anthony Mecca, Peckville

9 pounds 9 ounces

Delaware River, Pike County

1986

Sucker

Raymond Szalewicz, Titusville

12 pounds 14 ounces

Allegheny River, Forest County

2003

Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commiss

Brook trout

Vonada Ranck, Watsontown

7 pounds

Fishing Creek, Clinton County

1996

Brown trout

Fazle Buljubasic, Erie

19 pounds 10 ounces

Walnut Creek, Erie County

2000

Golden rainbow trout

Eli Borger, Palmerton

13 pounds 8 ounces

Mahoning Creek, Schuylkill County

2008

Lake trout

Keith Miller, Cranberry

31 pounds 13 ounces

Lake Erie, Erie County

2019

Rainbow trout

Dennis Clouse, Bethlehem

15 pounds 6 ounces

Jordan Creek, Lehigh County

1986

Steelhead

Corey Brown, Osterburg

20 pounds 3 ounces

Walnut Creek, Erie County

2001

Walleye

Mike Holly, Bradford

17 pounds 9 ounces

Allegheny Reservoir, Warren County

1980

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.