An 8-pound, 14.8-ounce pickerel taken by ice fisherman Dave Wilson of Honesdale sets a new Pennsylvania state record for chain pickerel.

The catch breaks the former mark of 8 pounds dating back to a 1937 catch from Shohola Falls, Pike County. The pickerel record had been the second-oldest of the official Pennsylvania state records. A 54-pound, 3-ounce musky landed in 1924 has the distinction of being the oldest state record catch.

Wilson hooked his record-smashing catch January 17 while ice fishing using a tip-up baited with a minnow at the Commission's Long Pond Lake in Wayne County. The fish measured 30 inches in length.

Pennsylvania certifies state records based on total body weight. Potential record fish must exceed the established benchmark by at least one ounce, as weighed on a certified scale. To be considered for state record certification, a fish must be caught using legal means, in season, from Pennsylvania waters open to the public without charge or fee. Fish taken from farm ponds, fee-fishing lakes, ponds or streams or in waters restricted to use by club members or their guests do not qualify.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is the only entity that can certify a new state record fish in the Commonwealth.

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