This white perch caught in Delaware River might seem small, but it’s a Pa. record

Two pounds and one ounce — about the weight of a kitten — might seem small. But in the world of Pennsylvania’s white perch, it’s big by a long shot.

State officials say a teen caught a record perch while fishing with his father from a boat in the Delaware River near the Commodore Barry Bridge during an April fishing trip. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced Friday that it had verified the record, which beat the old one by 5 ounces.

Christopher Barrett, 19, and his father, Craig, both of Mohnton, Berks County, left the Ridley Township Municipal Marina in Delaware County on a 20-foot center console fishing boat on the morning of April 14, according to a PFBC news release.

They guided the boat through Darby Creek and out to the Delaware River and began fishing below the Commodore Barry Bridge near Chester City in Delaware County.

The duo was using heavy duty spinning rods and bloodworms hoping to find striped bass and catfish but began catching white perch. Christopher Barrett reeled in the attention-getting perch.

“We usually keep a few perch to eat, and when I went to put that one in the cooler, we both said that’s got to be the biggest white perch we’ve ever seen,” Barrett said in the release. “When we got back to the dock, my dad looked up the state record for Pennsylvania, which was under two pounds. We weighed the fish on our own scale, and it was 2 pounds, 3 ounces. So, we started to get really excited at that point.”

The pair contacted the Fish and Boat Commission’s Southeast Region office the next morning. Waterways conservation officer Derek Norman met them at the Bowmansville Post Office in Lancaster County where there was a certified scale. Norman confirmed the fish exceeded the previous state record set in 2008. That perch was also caught in the Delaware.

Only weight is considered for the record books in Pennsylvania. But the new record white perch measured 14.125 inches long with a girth of 12.25 inches.

Barrett said the fish was full of eggs, which made it heavier.

“We’re pretty good at catching perch, so I guess it was a little bit of skill and luck combined with good timing to catch that fish at just the right time,” he said.

Overall, though, he’s glad he caught the fish with his dad.

“We go fishing all the time together, and it’s our favorite thing in the world to do,” he said. “We’ll never forget this.”

He plans to take it to a taxidermist for preservation.