Record-Breaking Yellow Perch Caught In Lake Erie

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

ERIE, Pa. (KDKA) - An Erie fisher caught a record-breaking yellow perch.

The Fish and Boat Commission says Kirk Rudzinski was out with his friend Sam Troup fishing on Lake Erie last month.

Rudzinski says when he felt the pull on his line just before 7:30 p.m., "I thought for sure that I had a double."

After a two-minute fight, Troup netted the fish and brought it on board. Rudzinski says he knew right away it was his biggest catch ever, and he remembers thinking it just had to be a state record.

Turns out he was right.

The commission says the yellow perch Rudzinski had caught weighed 2.98 pounds, which according to state rules, rounds up to 3 pounds. That beats the previous record -- also set by an Erie County angler -- by two ounces. The fish was 16 7/8 inches long and had a girth of 14 inches.