New Maryland record yellow perch caught in lower Susquehanna River

Annapolis, Md. — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources recently recognized Thomas Dembeck Jr. as the new state record holder for yellow perch – Perca flavescens.

Dembeck, of Hydes, Md., caught the 2.3-pound, 16-inch fish on Feb. 7 while fishing in the tidal waters of the lower Susquehanna River.

He was deep jigging in about 50 feet of water using a double-jig rig, which consisted of two small 1-inch plastic paddletails on ⅛-ounce leadheads rigged on dropper loops above a 1-ounce sinker.

Using a light spinning rod with 10-pound test braided line, Dembeck’s catch bested the long-standing record of 2.2 pounds, caught by Niles Pethel in 1979. 

MORE FISHING COVERAGE FROM OUTDOOR NEWS:

New Maryland record longnose gar weighs 20.5 pounds

Public input needed on fisheries management plans for 151 Minnesota lakes

Ice still hanging on for Ohio anglers off Lake Erie’s islands

The fish was weighed on a certified scale at Gibby’s Seafood in Lutherville, and the species was confirmed by DNR recreational fisheries coordinator Erik Zlokovitz. 

Dembeck has fished for yellow perch since the 1960s and catching a state record fish has been a lifetime pursuit. On the day he caught the record, he had been catching mostly small yellow perch. When he felt a slightly heavier weight on his line, he first thought it was just a double-header of two small fish.

“I was nonchalantly reeling the fish toward the surface and even took time to watch an eagle fly by,” Dembeck said.

When he looked down, he saw a perch that looked like a big “yellow submarine” and yelled for his friend Lee Haile to net the fish. Haile, the current state record holder for chain pickerel in the nontidal division, realized they might have a state record yellow perch in the boat.

After approximating the fish’s weight on a hand scale, they took it to a certified scale for an official weight.