State-record walleye possible after Connellsville man catches huge fish - GoErie.com

Brian Whipkey  |  Pennsylvania Outdoor Columnist

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It appears a 41-year-old fishing record has been broken in Pennsylvania.

Richard "The Breeze" Nicholson caught a 34-inch, 18.1-pound walleye Thursday, and it is being reviewed as the new state record holder.

Nicholson, 62, of Connellsville, Fayette County, caught the trophy using a creek chub as bait in the Youghiogheny River near his home. "It's all luck," Nicholson said Sunday evening about the catch.

"I'm a live bait man," he said about using minnows he traps in nearby streams for bait.

The Pennsylvania record for walleye was set in 1980 when Mike Holly of Bradford reeled in a 17-pound, 9-ounce fish from the Allegheny Reservoir. Nicholson's fish is about a half-pound heavier.

Sgt. Mike Walsh of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission said Monday morning that Waterways Conservation Officer Scott Opfer did confirm the size of the walleye and "right now it does beat the record."

What has to happen is that Nicholson needs to file the paperwork with the agency and staff in Harrisburg will review and research it before making a ruling on the record. "It has be checked and double-checked," Walsh said.

Nicholson believes Thursday evening had all the right weather conditions for fishing. He said the water was a little cloudy and the leaves were floating on the surface of the water. He first caught an 18-inch sauger and then a 27-inch walleye. It weighed 9 and half pounds. "I was ecstatic about that," he said about the start of the evening.

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At about 7 p.m., he hooked into the fish of a lifetime. He said it took about 20 to 25 minutes to reel in and credits his son, Richard Jr., for making the catch possible. When his son netted the heavy walleye, the net's handle snapped. Between the two of them they were able to get the fish to the shore. He said he missed six more fish that night.

He put his catch in an old bathtub he has connected to a water spring's overflow at his home. It keeps them alive until he decides to clean them. Fortunately, his son decided to look up the state record and realized they should get the fish weighed as it could top the existing record.

That move preserved the fish for trophy consideration.

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"I'm a meat fisherman; I wanted to eat it," Nicholson said about his son informing him not to cut it up.

They used an old hanging scale that measures up to 18 pounds and the fish took the scale to the bottom. He explained he then took the fish to a super market butcher department where a friend worked and he weighed the fish at 18.14 pounds.

"I knew right then I had the record."

He said they decided to have it weighed on another scale and they stopped at Martin's grocery' store and the man said, "New state record 18.1 pounds."  The fish also has a girth of 21.1 inches.

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Nicholson caught the trophy in a place he has enjoyed for more than 50 years. "I was fishing in the hole my dad (Glenn "The Wind" Nicholson, who died several years ago) used to fish. ... It's kind of ironic," he said.

"Dad taught us how to hunt and fish," he said about feeling his father's presence when he reflects on his catch of a lifetime. His dad taught him, "Big hooks, big bait, big fish."

He uses a noodle rod that is sensitive to the bait's movement and has 6-pound test line on his reel.

The night before, some of his family members reported on how well the fish were biting and he said, "I'm going catching tonight."

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The angler is known for his fish events he calls Hillbilly Surf and Turf. On Friday nights, he makes hamburgers and whatever fish they have for his family.

"I'm a meat eater," he said about also enjoying bluegill, crappie and yellow perch. The hole where the trophy was caught has been good to him. He has creeled 25 walleye from that spot this year alone. "A lot were over 20 inches. There's a lot of good fish in the river" that he estimates is probably under 10 feet deep where he casts his line.

"I was just lucky, that's all," he said about the accomplishment.

"I wanted to cut it and eat it," he said about thanking his son for checking on the records. "It was a special night."

Fishing is a passion he wants others to experience. Fall fishing is a great time to go, Nicholson said, as the fish are eating more to build fat for winter.

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He encourages others to fish in the Yough River as he is aware of other big fish, some larger than the one he caught.

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"I'm hoping this helps people get excited about fishing again," he said.

The fish is now in his freezer and will be taken to his taxidermist friend who has mounted deer for him. Even though he fished all of his life, this will be his first fish to be preserved on a wall in his home. He's hoping the taxidermist can make a replica mold of the walleye allowing him to take the meat home.

"I want to have a walleye party," Nicholsonsaid about wanting to filet and eat the assumed new record.

In reflecting on the accomplishment, he said,  "I still can't believe I caught it. The best part is that my son was with me."

Brian Whipkey is the outdoor columnist for USA Today Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Outdoors Newsletter email on your website's homepage under your login name.