When Caroline Socha’s 10-year-old son Jacob Trantolis went ice fishing last month, the pair never expected they would spark a statewide debate that would end up putting them in the fishing history books.
It all began on Feb. 22, when Trantolis and a friend were ice fishing on a pond in New London County, Socha said. After setting a tip up on the ice, Trantolis noticed the flag pop up, meaning a fish had taken the bait. Tip ups are a device to suspend bait under the ice and signal a bite with a flag. When a fish strikes, the spool turns, releasing a flag to alert the angler.
“Jacob noticed the flag raise and quickly realized it was a pretty big fish,” Socha said. “He couldn’t pull the fish up with the line, it was too heavy. So he had to stick his arm in the water and actually bring the fish up. It was really heavy and unlike anything else that caught that day.”
Socha said her brother, who was with Jacob on the ice at the time, saw him jump up and down and start screaming about his catch.
“He was very excited about it. He has caught some larger fish in the past, but this was the first catfish he ever caught so he was really excited to catch one of those.”
The fish has now sparked a debate about whether it is a brown bullhead or a white catfish, as both species look similar. Socha said quickly after Jacob reeled in the prized catch, she tried to find a scale to weigh the fish after realizing he may have pulled in a state record.
“We were both actively using AI and Google to identify the fish and we were looking at state records,” Socha said. “That’s when I realized Jacob may have caught a new state record brown bullhead. We didn’t know how, but we knew we had to get it weighed. So I was literally calling grocery stores and was fortunate enough to find one that allowed us to weigh it.”
Socha said the fish endued up weighing 5.37 pounds. The current record for a brown bullhead in Connecticut is 5 pounds, 7 ounces, according to the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The fish, if a brown bullhead, would be one of the largest caught in the state in years.
Biologists with DEEP said the fish is most likely a white catfish. The state record for white catfish is 12 pounds, 12 ounces, according to DEEP. But the fish would qualify for a trophy fish award based on weight.
“The family reached out to DEEP and held the fish up to the camera over a Teams call to talk through all the identifying characteristics of white catfish,” said DEEP spokesperson William Flood.
“DEEP biologists say the fish was a ‘perfect specimen’ of a white catfish, with a wide head, blue eyes, white chin barbels, and slightly forked tail with rounded points. It would have been a near state record if it was a brown bullhead.”
Despite the findings from DEEP, Socha said she has received messages from expert fisherman across the state who believe the fish is a brown bullhead. She said she may end up getting the fish tested to positively confirm its identity and put the debate to rest.
“One thing that has happened is that Jacob is more excited than ever to get back on the ice fishing,” Socha said. “He hasn’t let any of the debate deter him from being back out on the ice. He’s reading how to catch brown bullhead and even went to a fishing story to get specific lures. We have also learned a lot about DEEP programs in the process. We have turned this into a real educational experience.”
Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected].