Franklin County man catches record-breaking flathead catfish in Lancaster County

By WGAL Staff

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    CONESTOGA, Pennsylvania (WGAL) — It’s official: A 66-pound flathead catfish caught near Conestoga, Lancaster County, has been certified by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission as a new state record

On the morning of May 14, 46-year-old Michael Wherley of Fayetteville, Franklin County, caught the massive fish on the Susquehanna River section known as Lake Aldred.

Wherley said as he reeled in a third rod, he knew right away it was a very large fish, and his arms started to cramp as he continued to battle the catfish for the next 30 minutes.

“When it finally came to the surface, all I could think was that it was humongous!” Wherley recalled. “When I got the fish next to the boat, I handed the rod to Tommy [Clark, his friend], and I stuck both hands in the fish’s mouth and pulled as hard as I could to bring it aboard. We knew we had something.”

Wherley, who has been fishing for flathead catfish on the Susquehanna River for about 15 years, said he was aware of the previous state record, a 56-pound, 3-ounce fish caught by a Philadelphia angler in the Schuylkill River in May 2020.

Confident that his catch had a chance to beat the record, Wherley and Clark kept the fish alive by placing it inside a large plastic tote box filled with water and equipped with an aerator.

Wherley’s flathead catfish was recorded as weighing 66 pounds, 6 ounces, exceeding the previous state record by more than ten pounds.

Following the inspection, the live catfish was successfully released back into the river and swam away.

“This is just incredible, and I’m really glad we were able to release the fish back into the river,” Wherley said. “My previous personal best flathead was 44 pounds last year. I know I’ve had bigger ones on the line, but they got off before I could get them on the boat. I’ll enjoy this record as long as it lasts, but I’m sure it will probably be broken in a year or two, if not sooner. I’m a hundred percent certain there are even bigger fish out there.”

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