Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania fisherman catches yellow perch that’s comparable to the state record

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2024

Pennsylvania fisherman catches yellow perch that’s comparable to the state record

A phone call from a fishing buddy helped a Pennsylvania angler realize he shouldn’t filet the trophy fish he just caught.

Chuck Main, 55, of Beaver County caught a yellow perch April 7 that rivals the Pennsylvania state record.

Main of Ellwood City was fishing for perch on Presque Isle Bay in Erie when he caught an unusually heavy yellow perch. He’s an avid bass angler and knew people were having success fishing for perch.

He was on his bass boat with his friend, Mike Hobrat, and they were catching a few perch using a VMC Moon Eye Jig with a Strike King Rage Tail Swimmer. He soon hooked into a large one that got off before he was able to land it.

“My buddy said that’s the largest perch I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Later on he hooked into another similarly large fish and they safely netted it and put it in his boat’s live well with other fish.

“All of the ones we were catching pretty big, but not mega giants like this one,” he said.

Erie fishing: Lack of snow, rain hampered annual steelhead run in Erie, here’s why

When he got home he knew the fish was big and decided to put it on his scale before cleaning it. He then realized it topped 3 pounds.

“I don’t know what made me weigh that fish,” he said. “I literally was getting ready to filet him.”

He figured the state record was much heavier than his fish and didn’t look up the state record. He called one of his friends, Austin Dunlap, who wasn’t able to go along that day to tell him about the outing.

“I said you should have went dude, we whacked them,” he said, adding that the one fish was three pounds. The friend told him he probably has the new state record.

Instead of filleting the fish, they took steps to find a bait shop with an official scale to weigh it. He called the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and he was able to meet Monday with a waterways conservation officer nearby at Reddi Bait in Bridgewater. The official weight turned out to be 3.03 pounds. It was just over 16 inches long and had a girth of 14 inches. Main said the people at the bait shop and the officer were both excited about the size of his catch.

The fish is too close to the state record to be considered as the new title holder. The current record is a yellow perch caught by Kirk Rudzinski of Erie while fishing April 9, 2021, on Lake Erie. His fish weighed 2.98 pounds and the PFBC rounded the weight to 3 pounds.

Existing record: Lake Erie angler Kirk Rudzinski’s yellow perch is officially a Pennsylvania record

Mike Parker, communications director for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, said they can’t comment on a specific fish until they receive a state record application.

“We are aware of the fish and an officer was present to examine the fish,” he said. However, he said, one of the rules on the application form is that the fish must weigh at least two ounces more than the existing record to be considered for a new record.

Parker said the rule for it to weigh at least two ounces more than an existing record is to eliminate any margin of error.

In addition, he said they don’t list ties or second place in the list of state records. The only way that would happen is if two record fish were caught at the exact same time.

“It’s a stringent process, it’s difficult to achieve and because state records are rare, they mean that much more,” Parker said.

Main said Friday he still plans to file the application with the agency and see what happens. As for the future of the fish, he’s planning to have it mounted by a taxidermist.

“It’s pretty cool. Just the whole story about how I almost filleted it. How everything went down makes it super cool,” Main said. “If it wasn’t for my buddy saying I probably caught the state record, I would not have thought about it for another second.”

Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website’s homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors, and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors.

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Pennsylvania

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in strikes; Pennsylvania lawmakers respond

Published

10 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in strikes; Pennsylvania lawmakers respond

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed after a massive U.S. and Israeli military operation Saturday, President Trump said. Meanwhile, the reactions to the strikes against Iran were mostly split along partisan lines among Pennsylvania’s elected officials.

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Pennsylvania

Quakertown police chief on leave after clash with student protesters

Published

22 hours ago

February 28, 2026

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Quakertown police chief on leave after clash with student protesters

From Delco to Chesco and Montco to Bucks, what about life in Philly’s suburbs do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Quakertown Police Chief Scott McElree is on leave after he was seen on video placing a student in a chokehold during a high school walkout earlier this month.

Borough Solicitor Peter Nelson told 6abc and other outlets Friday that McElree, who also serves as the borough manager, is currently on workers’ compensation leave. A request for comment from Nelson was not immediately returned Saturday.

The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office is currently investigating the police department’s response to a student-led protest against the Trump administration federal enforcement actions on Feb. 20.

After more than 30 students walked out of Bucks County’s Quakertown Community High School, a violent confrontation with Quakertown officers saw at least five students arrested. The students have since been charged with aggravated assault, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Police claim that students threw snowballs at the responding officers on the scene and kicked their cars.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 2 Day results for Feb. 27, 2026

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

The Pennsylvania Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Friday, Feb. 27, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

11-18-39-43-67, Mega Ball: 23

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 2 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 4-7, Wild: 5

Evening: 8-8, Wild: 0

Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 6-7-7, Wild: 5

Evening: 0-0-3, Wild: 0

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 7-2-1-4, Wild: 5

Evening: 5-7-3-1, Wild: 0

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 8-4-5-4-4, Wild: 5

Evening: 1-1-9-8-7, Wild: 0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 5 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

04-14-16-20-38

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Treasure Hunt numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

02-04-08-13-30

Check Treasure Hunt payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Match 6 Lotto numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

10-12-23-31-33-46

Check Match 6 Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

03-04-13-28-42, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Sign the Ticket: Ensure your ticket has your signature, name, address and phone number on the back.
Prizes up to $600: Claim at any PA Lottery retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes from $600 to $2,500: Use a Claim Form to claim at a retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes over $2,500: Mail your signed ticket with a Claim Form or in person at a Lottery Area Office (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

Lottery Headquarters is currently not open to the public. Visit the PA Lottery website for other office locations near you.

When are the Pennsylvania Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: 1:35 p.m. and 6:59 p.m. daily.
Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily.
Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily
Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. daily.
Treasure Hunt: 1:35 p.m. daily.
Match 6 Lotto: 6:59 p.m. Monday and Thursday.
Powerball Double Play: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Pennsylvania editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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