Here's where anglers are catching the largest fish across Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania waterways have some big fish, but do you know where to find them?
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s report of the biggest fish caught in 2022 can help you target some of the real trophies swimming in the Keystone state.
The Biggest Fish of the Year Program was an honors-based program where anglers reported the massive fish they caught. It’s been phased out for 2023, as the agency is offering other ways to recognize good days on the water.
Trophy catches
If you are looking for carp, head to the Delaware River. The top three carp of 2022 were caught there. James Leiser of Shohola reported catching the largest carp, a 37-pound, 2-ounce fish that measured 39.5 inches long on Nov. 2. He was using Carp Bait USA pineapple boilie for bait.
Bessemer Lake was a good place to find big largemouth bass for Bob Succor of Murrysvville, who caught three of the top five bass of the year in that Lawrence County waterway. The biggest of the fish was 7 pounds, 7 ounces and measured 22.5 inches long.
Lake Erie is a top waterway for many species: the largest smallmouth bass, white bass, drum, steelhead trout and lake trout. Lake Erie also has several of the top five suckers, walleye, channel catfish and white perch. The adjacent Presque Isle Bay had the top, third and fifth largest yellow perch of the year. Alex Tirpak of Erie caught a 2-pound, 8-ounce, 16-inch yellow perch to top the category.
The Allegheny River also produced heavy fish last year. Don Gould of Lower Burrell caught an 18-pound, 8-ounce, 35.25-inch channel catfish in the Pittsburgh area waterway. Ben Rzicznek of Clarendon caught the top two northern pike of the year out of the Allegheny River. The largest was 40 inches long and weighed 17 pounds, 7 ounces. His other pike was 5 inches shorter but still a heavy fish at 12 pounds, 8 ounces. The river also was responsible for the fifth largest smallmouth of the year.
The Susquehanna River had four of the five heaviest flathead catfish of the year, the second biggest channel catfish and the fourth largest carp. The largest catfish, a 62-pounder measuring 46.5 inches long was caught on May 14, 2022, by Austin Sutliff of Warren. The heavy fish had a 33-inch girth. He caught the fish at 4:45 a.m. in the morning using a piece of cut shad.
Knowing there’s heavy fish in the river, Sutliff used 40-pound test main line with an 80-pound test leader. When the fish hit, it swam up the river in the current, and he realized it was heavy. With his heavy gear he was able to quickly pull the trophy to his boat.
“From the bite, to the whole fight of the fish and by the time we scooped him in the bag, it was probably only three minutes,” said Sutliff, who is a fishing guide through his business, Predator Getter Outdoors, where he specializes in targeting flatheads.
He released the fish back in the water and later realized their scale was designed to measure up to 50 pounds. The fish was heavier than the scale could measure. By using accepted measurement calculators and reviewing a flathead study, he said the fish weighed between 61 and 64 pounds.
“We realized then it was most definitely a state record,” he said. However the river monster was released and couldn’t be inspected by state officials to be considered for the official record. “We just didn’t realize it at the time,” he said about releasing the fish.
Jonathan Pierce, Philadelphia, held the record at the time of Sutliff’s catch with a 56-pound, 3-ounce flathead he caught in 2020 from the Schuylkill River. At the time of this writing, the agency is reviewing a new potential record fish. Mike Wherley, 46, of Fayetteville reported reeling in a 66-pound,4-ounce flathead on May 14 while fishing in the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County.
Sutliff had a great year as he also caught the second largest muskellunge of the year. It was a 39-pound, 9-ounce trophy that measured 50.75 inches from the Allegheny River. He was fishing on New Year’s Eve, and the temperature was in the 50s.
“I was just enjoying the last day of the year," he said. He was casting his Musky Pursuit Serpent Lure when “it crushed it.” He didn’t want to stress the old fish out of the water and forced it in quickly. “Half of the fish didn’t fit in the net,” he said.
He returned the massive fish back to the water. “I want them to grow bigger,” he said about keeping the genetics in the ecosystem. The female musky should have been able to spawn this spring.
For those looking for bigger fish, you need to fish in different depths of water.
“Bigger baits catch bigger fish,” he said. The smaller baits catch fish, but he wants to have large pieces of shad for the lunkers.
The Pymatuning Reservoir was responsible for the other four top muskies the year. The biggest was 40 pounds, 50.25 inches by Michael Saunoras of McDonald. He was fishing on April 9, 2022, with a DK musky lure.
Looking over the list, it’s clear that large fish like worms and minnows. Many of the top fish were caught on nightcrawlers or some form of a minnow or replica lure.
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Reporting your trophy fish
Pennsylvania’s Biggest Fish of the Year program ended in 2022, but there are several other ways the Fish and Boat Commission recognizes fish.
“We’ve been assessing all the programs we offer,” said Kim Garris, director of the Bureau of Outreach, Education and Marketing. In the Biggest Fish of the Year program, there has been a drop of about 75% over the last 10 years. She said it was print driven and people had to wait until May of the following year to see if their fish was recognized as a top fish.
The agency is looking to recognize anglers on a more timely basis through social media pages, its YouTube channel and its website, where anglers will “get immediate gratification.”
Anglers’ catches will appear on those pages as well as their general stories about fishing.
“There’s more to angling than just a big fish,” she said about wanting people to send in their stories about interesting times on the water. Email photos to the agency at ra-fbsocial1@pa.gov for consideration on the agency’s website and social media pages.
There is also a Cast & Caught feature in the agency’s Pennsylvania Angler & Boater magazine’s “Cast & Caught” column. The forms to mail the information about your catch can be found at at fishandboat.com and mailed to: Editor, Pennsylvania Angler & Boater, P.O. Box 67000, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7000.
“We encourage people to tell us their stories. We are interested. No little fish story is too little,” she said.
The website also has a certificate to download for an angler’s first fish.
The Pennsylvania State-Record Fish program where the catch has to be certified by Fish and Boat staff members will continue to be held as in the past.
Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors,Twitter @whipkeyoutdoors and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Where are the best places to fish in Pennsylvania for trout, bass,
