Maryland has a new record yellow perch! Thomas Dembeck Jr. caught a 2.3-pound, 16-inch yellow perch while fishing in the tidal reaches of the lower Susquehanna River on Feb. 7, 2025. The big perch beats a record set way back in 1979.
Dembeck was fishing a double-jig rig in about 50 feet of water using a light spinning rod spooled with 10-pound test braided line. His rig consisted of two 1-inch plastic paddletails on ⅛-ounce leadheads on dropper loops, with a 1-ounce sinker to cut through the current and get the rig down to the bottom.
“I was nonchalantly reeling the fish towards the surface and even took time to watch an eagle fly by,” Dembeck told the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. But when he set eyes on the fish, he knew it was special. He called for his friend and co-angler, Lee Haile, to net the outsized perch.
Realizing they might have a record after weighing it on a hand scale, they took it to a certified scale for an official weight. The duo took the fish to the certified scale at Gibby’s Seafood in Lutherville, where they were met by DNR recreational fisheries coordinator Erik Zlokovitz, who confirmed the species.
Dembeck’s perch ousted the long-standing record of 2.2 pounds, caught by Niles Pethel on November 21, 1979. Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources maintains state records for sport fish in four divisions: Atlantic, Chesapeake, Nontidal, and Invasive.
Anglers fishing in Maryland who think they have a potential record catch are encouraged to download and complete a state record application and call 443-569-1398 to reach out to fisheries staff. The department recommends the fish be immersed in ice water to preserve its weight until it can be checked, confirmed, and certified.
