Two Maryland anglers are named state recordholders thanks to two impressive catches one day after the other. As is so often true in fishing, there’s a good story behind each catch.
A Baltimore County man broke a record that had stood for 46 years—the record for yellow perch. Thomas Dembeck Jr., who lives in Hydes, Maryland, caught his bright yellow fish in the tidal waters of the Susquehanna River on Feb. 7.
Dembeck has been fishing for yellow perch since the 1960s, and had always sought a record-breaker. The long-standing record has been held since 1979, and no one had touched it since. 46 years later, Dembeck would get his chance. Earlier this month, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says, he was deep jigging in about 50 feet of water using a double-jig rig (two small 1-inch plastic paddletails on ⅛-ounce leadheads rigged on dropper loops above a 1-ounce sinker). If 50 feet sounds deep, it’s because yellow perch are known to like deeper-water “holes” in the Susquehanna, at depths between 30 and 60 feet.
Dembeck had been catching mostly small yellow perch on this day, so when he felt a heavier tug on his line, he assumed it was two smaller fish nibbling.
“I was nonchalantly reeling the fish towards the surface and even took time to watch an eagle fly by,” Dembeck said. When he looked down, he saw a perch that he describes as a big “yellow submarine” and yelled for his fishing companion, Lee Haile, to grab it with the net.
He might not have known he had a state record fish if not for Haile, who happens to hold a Maryland state record himself for chain pickerel. He knew the process of submitting a fish for record consideration, and encouraged Dembeck to do so. The fish was weighed on a certified scale at Gibby’s Seafood in Lutherville, Baltimore County, and the species was confirmed by DNR. It was found to weigh 2.3 pounds at 16 inches long, breaking the record of 2.2 pounds set by angler Niles Pethel on November 21, 1979.
Just one day after Dembeck’s catch, another state record was set by a Dorchester county angler for the formidable-looking longnose gar. David Confair, from the small town of Secretary, was able to take his previously-held state record back. He had caught a record longnose gar in Jan. 2019, but his record was broken just a year later in March 2020.
Confair was able claim his record back on Feb. 8, 2025. He caught a 20.5-pound, 49.5-inch fish in Marshyhope Creek, fishing near the bottom in about 15 feet of water. He used a two-hook sabiki rig with No. 4 hooks and small cut pieces of gizzard shad, he tells DNR.
Confair targets longnose gar regularly, fishing with bottom rigs in February and March and near the surface in the summer. He is no stranger to catching large fish, but this one surprised him.
“When I first hooked the fish, it didn’t feel very big,” Confair said. “I got it to the boat in about a minute and a half. Then I saw it was a very large gar. It made one more dive to the bottom and then I was able to get it to the surface where my friend netted it.”
The fish’s weight was certified at Choptank River Crab and Oyster Co. in Cambridge, and the species was confirmed by DNR. At 18.3 pounds, it edges out Samson Matthews‘ record fish from 2020, also caught in Marshyhope Creek.
The longnose gar is a distinctive-looking fish with hard scales that function like armor, a long, needle-shaped snout, and sharp teeth. Eastern Shore anglers like the challenge of targeting the species because its jaw structure makes it tricky to hook.
As always, if you ever think you may have a potential state record catch, put it on ice immediately to preserve its weight. Maryland anglers should download and complete a state record application and call 443-569-1398.
