It was an ordinary day. Opening a few emails when I came across one with a headline that read: "New top river monster pulled from Susquehanna River." All my lifetime has been spent in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. About 15 miles to the west of Lancaster is the city of Columbia which is known as a river town since it sits along the east side of the mighty Susquehanna River. The Susquehanna eventually empties into the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, about 50 miles from where Lancaster County and York County straddle the river. The river is famous for many things from historical war battles to the meltdown of the nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island. Most would believe that was just about as exciting as it could get, but I have something to share today that may top that, at least for anglers. The headline I typed in my second sentence was posted online on January 7, 2021.
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| Joshua Dixon holds his 57-pound flathead catfish. |
Told of a young man by the name of Joshua Dixon who had recently landed the largest flathead catfish ever in the Susquehanna River in Maryland. The 57-pound catfish is the largest of its species encountered to date in the river in Maryland. The fish was 50 inches long and has just been certified as the first-ever state record for the invasive, predatory species by the Maryland Department of natural Resources. That fish topped the record 50-pound, 7 ounce catfish caught along the river at Muddy Run in York County, Pennsylvania on April 6, 2019.
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| Jeff Bonawitz of Lancaster County holds his 50 pound, 7 ounce fish caught at Muddy Run. |
That fish had held the Pennsylvania state record for over a year. Another flathead catfish, weighing 56 pounds, 3 ounces and 50 inches long had been hooked in the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania on May 24, 2020.
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| Jonathan Pierce holds his 56 pound, 3 ounce flathead catfish. |
That catfish had broken the record of the catfish caught on April 6, 2019 in Pennsylvania. The latest catch by Mr. Dixon, a resident of Cecil County, Maryland was caught from shore near a boat ramp. He had to battle the fish for almost 30 minutes near the Lapidum Boat Ramp which is about 10 miles downriver of the Pennsylvania-Maryland state line. He said he thought he had snagged a tree, due to the weight of the fish. There are many fishermen who believe there are larger fish in the river than those which have been caught already. I can remember making yearly visits to the Chesapeake Bay area in the summer, first as a child growing up and having an Aunt who had a home along the Elk River, to traveling with my wife and kids to the same areas when they were young. Spent many a summer day on the rivers leading into the Chesapeake Bay fishing with my friend Gary and our children in his boat. We too caught plenty of catfish, but none anywhere close to the size I just mentioned. Today there is a larger base of forage fish able to support more growth in the top-end predators. Some think that fish as large as 60 pounds will be caught in the near future. But, that's nothing in comparison to the fish caught in the large rivers of the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio basins. They can grow to 120 pounds! The flathead catfish, a top-level predator capable of disrupting native fish populations in the Susquehanna River is said to have been intentionally introduced by anglers into the waters in the eastern half of Pennsylvania. Is that good or not? For the angler who enjoys a good fight I suppose it may be good, but for those fish who supply the massive catfish with their meals, I'm sure it isn't the best result. All I can say is: "I'm going to need a bigger fishing rod!" It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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