A White Perch Record From the Delaware Estuary

On April 14, 2024, a 19-year-old angler fishing the tidal Delaware River landed a white perch that weighed 2 pounds 1 ounce and became the Pennsylvania state record. This is the catch, drawn from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announcement.

The catch

Christopher Barrett, 19, of Mohnton, fished with his father Craig after launching from Ridley Township Municipal Marina and traveling by way of Darby Creek, to the Delaware River just below the Commodore Barry Bridge near Chester. They were targeting striped bass and catfish with heavy-duty spinning rods, fish-finder rigs and circle hooks baited with bloodworms when the white perch hit around 11 a.m.

The fish weighed 2 pounds 1 ounce officially, at the Bowmansville Post Office with a Waterways Conservation Officer present. His own scale read 2 pounds 3 ounces. It measured 14.125 inches long with a 12.25-inch girth. The PFBC described it as a large female full of eggs.

Why it is remarkable

The previous record, also from the Delaware River, was caught in 2008 and was under two pounds. The new fish beat it by five ounces.

Connection to the waterway

The record came on a bottom rig meant for bigger fish, in a reach covered in the tidal Delaware River guide. The white perch advisory for the Delaware Estuary is one meal a month because of PCBs, so check the advisory before keeping any.

The estuary behind the record

The tidal Delaware in Pennsylvania runs through Delaware, Philadelphia and Bucks counties, shared with New Jersey and Delaware. It is a tidal freshwater and estuarine river, and the tide reverses four times a day, according to PFBC’s water trail guide. Access points in that guide include the Neshaminy State Park ramp, the Station Avenue ramp and a beach access at Bristol. The Barrett party launched from Ridley Township Municipal Marina by way of Darby Creek. Fees and hours change, so verify them.

Spring brings shad, river herring and striped bass runs, with striped bass best between Morrisville and Trenton by boat. In summer and fall, anglers fish for largemouth and smallmouth bass and channel catfish, and white perch are also targeted.

Rules to know

In-line circle hooks are required with bait for any species on this water, and striped bass may not be gaffed. Hickory shad and river herring are closed, and sturgeon have no open season. DEP’s 2026 advisory lists white perch from the Delaware Estuary at one meal a month because of PCBs. Neshaminy Creek is different: all species there carry a do-not-eat advisory because of PFOS, so keep the two waters apart.

What anglers can take from it

Pennsylvania records are certified by weight, so a fish should be weighed on a certified scale with an official present. More stories from Pennsylvania waters are in the Dock Tales index.

Sources and caveats

This tale uses the PFBC release of June 7, 2024 and the PFBC state record list, which agree. We have not cleared any photo rights.