Pennsylvania teenager comes face to face with the largest white perch his state has ever seen

A Pennsylvania teenager recently achieved the feat of a lifetime after catching a fish that broke his state's record, officials say.

Mohnton resident Christopher Barrett, 19, caught an unusually large white perch while fishing with his father in April. The fish weighed two pounds and one ounce, breaking the previous Keystone State white perch record by five ounces.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced the capture in a press release on June 7. Officials said the father and son were on a fishing boat when the record catch was made.

“After traveling through Darby Creek, the pair entered the Delaware River and began fishing just below the Commodore Barry Bridge near Chester,” the release said. “Christopher and his father used heavy-duty casting rods rigged with fish finders and circle hooks baited with bloodworms to target striped bass and catfish, but also caught white perch.”

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“Around 11 a.m., Barrett brought in a particularly large perch that caught the attention of both fishermen.”

Officials say the pole measured 14.125 inches long and had a girth of 12.25 inches. Father and son immediately noticed the size of the fish.

“We usually keep a few perch around to eat, and when I went to put that one in the cooler, we both said it had to be the biggest white perch we'd ever seen,” the teen said. “When we got back to the dock, my dad looked for the Pennsylvania state record, which was less than two pounds.”

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“We weighed the fish on our own scale, and it weighed 2 pounds, 3 ounces, so we started to get really excited at that point.”

Authorities found the fish was actually two ounces lighter, but it still broke the white perch record from 2008. The teen told state officials he and his father were 'pretty good' in fishing.

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“It started out as a big fish and it was full of eggs, which made it even heavier,” Barrett said. “We're pretty good at catching perch, so I guess it took a little skill and luck, combined with good timing, to catch this fish at the right time.”

When officials asked the teen what he planned to do with the fish, Barrett told them he planned to send the perch to a taxidermist to “preserve the memory of the catch.”

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“I’m very grateful for this record, but even more excited that I got to share this experience with my dad,” Barrett said. “We go fishing together all the time and it's our favorite thing in the world. We'll never forget that.”

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