FishRook
It came down to a DNA test. And the results dashed an Albany County man’s hopes for a new state freshwater fishing record.
The angler, Chris Brockett of Loudenville, was fishing on the banks of the Mohawk River on Aug. 22 when he landed what he thought was a white catfish. The fish which was caught on cut bait near Waterford, weighed 12 pounds and measured 30.5 inches.
Brian Canzeri, a DEC conservation officer, witnessed the weighing of Brockett’s fish on an official scale. At the time, Canzeri said it appeared to be a white catfish and that its weight easily beat the current white catfish state record of 10.5 pounds. That fish was caught by Joe Silicato in 1998 on the New Croton Reservoir in Westchester County.
White catfish, which are relatively rare in this state, are different from the more common channel catfish in several subtle ways.
Channel catfish get bigger have narrower heads; sharper forked tails, blackish chin barbels (whiskers) – and have 25 to 28 rays, while a…
