FishRook
A Brockport man recently set a new state freshwater fishing record for species that some consider a “living fossel,” according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Chase Soptelean was fishing with cut bait for northern pike in Yanty Creek in Monroe County on June 12 when he hooked into a large bowfin.
“After having it weighed on a certified scale, they had a feeling the 13 lb. 8 oz. fish might be one for the record books, and they were right,” according to a DEC press release. “Chase’s bowfin edged out the 2006 record caught from Lake Champlain by 10 ounces.”
New York State fishing records are determined by weight, not length.
The old record bowfin, which measured 34 inches long, was caught by Mary Forest.
“Soptelean’s mudfish measured 30.5-inches, which shows the trophy catch was eating well in Yanty Creek,” reported outdoorlife.com. The creek empties into Lake Ontario between Niagara Falls and Rochester.
Bowfin are often confused with northern…
