Pennsylvania man reels in record-breaking bass weighing more than 12 pounds on Cayuga Lake

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar on Monday announced the breaking of a 37-year-old fishing record and congratulated James Britenbaugh of Pennsylvania on his catch, the largest largemouth bass caught in New York.

On July 11, Britenbaugh reeled in the record-breaking 12-pound, 6-ounce largemouth bass from Cayuga Lake while practicing for an upcoming bass tournament. His catch surpasses the previous record largemouth bass, caught from Buckhorn Lake, Otsego County, in 1987 by one pound and two ounces.

The real-life big fish story comes during a year of achievements for New York anglers, New York State landed five lakes on Bassmaster Magazine’s Top 100 Best Bass Lakes in the country. The St. Lawrence River ranked as the best bass water in the nation , and Lake Erie/Upper Niagara River, ranked as the seventh-best water.

Lake Champlain, Cayuga Lake, and Oneida Lake also made the list and are in Bassmaster Magazine’s Top 25 Northeastern Best Bass Lakes of 2024 , solidifying them as some of New York's best places to cast a few lines.

“It’s no secret that New York has the best bass fishing opportunities in the country and Mr. Britenbaugh’s incredible fish certainly confirms that,” Mahar said in a statement.

The largemouth bass record comes weeks after a new state record for longnose gar was set. On June 21, 2024. Chuck Zimmerman of Hilton, Monroe County, reeled in a 15-pound, 14-ounce longnose gar from Butterfield Lake in Jefferson County.

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Angler Achievement Awards Program

Both Britenbaugh and Zimmerman submitted details of their winning catches as part of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s revamped Angler Achievement Awards Program, which recognizes anglers who catch any of the 40 eligible fish species that meet or exceed the minimum qualifying lengths established for that species and tracks state record fish.

Through the program, anglers can enter freshwater fish that meet specific qualifying criteria and receive official recognition of their catch along with a species-specific sticker commemorating their achievement.

“DEC encourages all anglers fishing in New York to check out the Angler Achievement Awards Program before dropping a line in the water," the DEC said in a statement. 'It's an exciting program that recognizes sizable catches and shines a light on the numerous lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams producing trophy-sized fish right here in New York.”

As part of the program’s recent revamp, anglers can now submit entries for qualifying catches from their smartphone through an online entry form.

If you’d like to test your lines and give record-breaking fish-chasing a try, visit the New York Angler Achievement Awards webpage for the official rules for the program and fish species and minimum qualifying lengths eligible for entry.

This article originally appeared on Ithaca Journal: Pennsylvania man reels in record-breaking bass weighing more than 12 pounds on Cayuga Lake