On October 3, 2026, angler David Taylor, Jr., landed the 36-pound, 2 ounce catfish while fishing in the Tri-State Hawg Hunters fishing tournament on the Allegheny River.
After certification, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) recognized Taylor’s fish as the new state record for channel catfish.
Taylor’s heavy-duty baitcasting rod had been set up with 40-pound test monofilament line with a Carolina rig and 10.0 circle hook baited with a chunk of cut Mooneye.
Upon retrieving the catfish with a landing net and removing the hook, which had been set neatly in the corner of the fish’s mouth, the fish was placed into a large livewell on the boat.
While Taylor and Atkinson continued fishing throughout the night, it wasn’t until Sunday morning during the tournament weigh-in at the Southside Public Boat Launch that another angler suggested to Taylor that his huge catch might actually be a very large Channel Catfish.
“You can tell a Channel Catfish from a Blue Catfish by counting the rays on its anal fin, because Channel Catfish always have less than 30 rays while Blues have at least 30,” added Taylor. “We counted 26 rays, and at that point, we looked up the state record for a channel cat. We were pretty excited because we thought it was definitely heavier. Now, my biggest concern was keeping the fish alive while we could figure out what we needed to do.”
Later that morning, Taylor was able to locate a certified scale at Reddi Bait and Tackle in Bridgewater, Beaver County, where the fish was initially weighed in at 36-pounds, 2 ounces.
Because the scale was not capable of producing a printout of the official weight, which is required under Pennsylvania’s State Record Fish Program Rules, Taylor made contact with Waterways Conservation Officer Abigail Luteri of the PFBC’s Southwest Region Bureau of Law Enforcement, and arranged to meet the officer at another location
At 11:45 a.m. on October 4, the fish was re-weighed Goodman’s Bait and Tackle in Ford City, Armstrong County, where a certified scale was also available.
This time, with WCO Luteri present, the channel catfish again tipped the scales at 36 pounds, 2 ounces, officially exceeding the previous state record by 9 ounces.
While only weight is considered for state record certification in Pennsylvania, Taylor’s fish also measured 42 inches long with a girth of 26 inches.
Because the scale at Goodman’s was also not capable of producing a printout of the weight, WCO Luteri submitted a written statement certifying that she had examined the scale and witnessed the weigh-in and attached the statement to Taylor’s official State Record Fish application.
Following the weigh-in and in-person fish inspection by WCO Luteri, Taylor requested that Luteri accompany him to a nearby access point on the Allegheny River, where the large Channel Catfish, still in good health, was successfully released and able to swim away.
In addition to meeting the certified weigh-in requirement, Taylor completed a Pennsylvania State Record Fish application which included color photographs and detailed information about the catch, which was reviewed by the PFBC Division of Fisheries Management and confirmed.
Anglers who are pursuing a state record, or think they have caught a state record fish, should visit the PFBC website for information.
source: Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
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