Pennsylvania man catches ‘once in a lifetime fish’

CLEARFIELD COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — With the warmth of early summer here more and more fishermen are out on the water and one angler caught quite the surprise.

One Clearfield County resident caught a fish so big that he thinks it may be a record catch. Ryan Charles was fishing along the West Branch Susquehanna River when he felt a bite, but what happened next shocked him.

“I caught a river monster, as you could call it,” Charles said.

He had caught a 27-inch rainbow trout.

“I have caught plenty of fish, especially here, but nothing ever like this. I’ve only ever caught trout half that size,” Charles added.

But is it a record? According to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission , the biggest trout caught in Pennsylvania was 15 lbs. 6 oz. rainbow trout that was caught in Lehigh County in 1986.

“He thinks that it’s the record for the West Branch, but I don’t know if that’s right. We’d have to search that back from years ago to see if that’s the way it is,” Pat Domico, Founder of Squirrel Tails for Trout said.

Domico stocks fish every year and that includes trophy fish like that include the ones like Charles caught.

“50 years I’ve been on this river and it gets better and better every year. They’re going to go on down and these people will be able to fish for nothing, bring their kids down here for nothing,” Domico added.

Even if it’s not a record-setting fish, it’s still a day that Charles won’t ever forget.

“I’m just real excited about it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime fish I’ll never catch a trout that big again unless I pay big money to go somewhere,” Charles added.

If you ever think that you’ve caught a recording-setting fish you’re advised to contact the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission immediately.

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