A Pennsylvania teenager recently achieved the feat of a lifetime when he caught a fish that broke the state record, authorities said.
Christopher Barrett, 19, of Monton, was fishing with his father in April when he caught an unusually large white perch.
The fish weighed 2 pounds, 1 ounce, beating the previous Keystone State white perch record by 5 ounces.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced the catch in a June 7 press release.
Officials explained that the father and son were on a fishing boat when the record-breaking catch was made.
“After navigating Darby Creek, the pair entered the Delaware River and began fishing just below the Commodore Barry Bridge near Chester,” the statement explained.
“Using heavy-duty spinning rods rigged with fish finder rigs and circle hooks baited with worms, Christopher and his father were targeting striped bass and catfish, but they were also catching some white perch.”
“Around 11am Barrett caught a particularly large perch that caught the attention of both anglers.”
Officials said the perch was 14.125 inches long and had a girth of 12.25 inches.
Father and son immediately realized how big the fish was.
“We always save a few perch to eat, and when we were about to put one in the cooler, we both said it was the biggest white perch we’d ever seen,” the boy explained.
“When we got back to the dock, my dad looked up the Pennsylvania state record, and it was under two pounds.”
“We weighed the fish on our scales and it was 2 pounds, 3 ounces, so at that point we started to get really excited.”
Officials discovered that the fish was actually 2 ounces lighter but still broke the 2008 white perch record.
The boy told state authorities that he and his father were “pretty good” at fishing.
“It was a big fish to begin with and even heavier because it was full of eggs,” Barrett explained.
“We’re good at catching perch so I think it was a combination of a bit of skill, luck and good timing to catch that fish at just the right time.”
When authorities asked the boy what he planned to do with the fish, Barrett replied that he was going to send it to a taxidermist “to have a memento of the catch.”
“I’m so grateful for this record, but even more excited to share this experience with my dad,” Barrett said.
“We go fishing together all the time. It’s our favorite thing in the world. I’ll never forget this.”
