On May 24, 2020, angler Jonathan Pierce, 34, of Philadelphia, was fishing from the bank of the Schuylkill River at East Falls. HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) has certified a new state record flathead catfish. Utah Catfish Record. On April 6, 2019, angler Jeff Bonawitz, 54, of East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County launched his boat from the Muddy Creek public access area located south of Lower Bear Island on the Susquehanna River in York County. The expected Pennsylvania state record flathead catfish is weighed at Blue Marsh Outdoors in Berks County. HARRISBURG, Pa. (May 7) – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is excited to announce a new state record flathead catfish! The mammoth catfish also measured 50 inches in length as had an impressive girth of 28.875 inches. Channel: 35-14.7; The Virginia state record blue catfish is also a world record. At 2:30 p.m. on April 6, Jeff Bonawitz of East Lampeter Township reeled in a record-setting flathead catfish from the Susquehanna River.. May 10 (UPI) --A Pennsylvania man is a record holder after reeling in the state's first documented catfish weighing over 50 pounds.Jeff Bonawitz, 54, … (Photo via Pennsylvania Pressroom) The catch comfortably displaced the previous Pennsylvania flathead catfish state record, which was caught in April 2019 on the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County. At that point he knew they had something even larger on their hands. The catfish tipped the scales at 50 pounds, 7 ounces. Channel: 32-8, LeRoy Mortenson, Utah Lake, 1978; Vermont Catfish Record. Man catches Pa. record 50-pound flathead catfish — an invasive species by Frank Kummer , Updated: May 8, 2019 It took Jeff Bonawitz 25 minutes to land the 50-pound, 7-ounce fish. A new state-record flathead catfish has been announced by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.