Pennsylvania anglers reel in record-breaking 18-pound walleye

Nov. 16 (UPI) -- A father and son angling team in Pennsylvania broke a state record when they reeled in a 34-inch walleye that tipped the scales at 18 pounds, 1 ounce.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission said Connellsville man Richard Nicholson, 62, was fishing along the Youghiogheny River with his son, Richard Nicholson Jr., when the younger man alerted his father about a bite on his line.

"I looked over and the rod had really taken a bend, so I grabbed it and just started reeling," the elder Nicholson said in a news release. "I knew right away it was something big, and I thought maybe it was a musky.

"It fought me for about 25 minutes before I got it up on the bank and my son got it in the net, and we could see it was a walleye. It was so big that it actually broke the net."

The pair took their catch to a local grocery store the next day to weigh it on a certified scale, and were shocked to see it was 18 pounds, 1 ounce.

The fish took the 41-year-old state record from a 17-pound, 9 ounce walleye caught in the Allegheny Reservoir by Mike Holly of Bradford.

Nicholson said he is keeping the fish frozen until a taxidermist can produce a molded replica. He said he'll then share the meat with friends and family.