Massive 66-pound flathead catfish breaks Pa.'s state record

CONESTOGA, Pa. (KDKA) -- A Franklin County man caught a record-breaking 66-pound flathead catfish, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission announced on Tuesday. 

Forty-six-year-old Michael Wherley of Fayetteville caught the massive fish on a section of the Susquehanna River known as Lake Aldred, near Conestoga, Lancaster County. 

The Fish and Boat Commission said Wherley knew right away that it was a large catch and his arms started to cramp as he battled the catfish for the next 30 minutes. 

Wherley had been catching flathead catfish on the Susquehanna River for about 15 years and the Fish and Boat Commission said he knew about the previous state record of 56 pounds, 3 ounces. He kept the fish alive by putting it into a large plastic tote box filled with water and equipped with an aerator and took it to get weighed on a certified scale at a bait and tackle shop.

The fish ended up weighing a total of 66 pounds and 6 ounces, smashing the previous record. It was 50.25 inches long and had a girth of 35 inches, though Pennsylvania only counts weight towards the record. 

After a waterways conservation officer verified the weight and species, the fish was released back into the river.

"This is just incredible, and I'm really glad we were able to release the fish back into the river," Wherley said in a press release. "My previous personal best flathead was 44 pounds last year.  I know I've had bigger ones on the line, but they got off before I could get them on the boat.  I'll enjoy this record as long as it lasts, but I'm sure it will probably be broken in a year or two, if not sooner.  I'm a hundred-percent certain there are even bigger fish out there."