Jordan Tontarski Ties NYS Record for Pumpkinseed

The largest Pumpkinseed Sunfish caught in 25 years was landed earlier this year by angler Jordan Tontarski,. Jordan caught the fish in Jefferson County  while Ice Fishing on Black River, near Watertown.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos said “It took some time, but I want to personally congratulate Jordan Tontarski, the angler who caught the pumpkinseed last winter in Jefferson County, tying a state record set 25 years ago.”

This fish was caught earlier this year in January and has taken some time to officially announce the catch as a record tie, due to some uncertainty with the catch. Since this Pumpkinseed was so large, it actually showed what looked like physical features of a Bluegill, another type of Sunfish. Tontarski took the fish to the DEC offices in Region 6, for biologists to examine, however the results were inconclusive. Trying to get this figured out, Tontarski then brought the fish to Albany, where ichthyologists (Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha).) completed a DNA test, confirming the fish was a pure Pumpkinseed Sunfish, which then tied the New York State Record set in 1994 by R. Kennard Mosher in Indian Lake located in Hamilton County.

If you have caught Pumpkinseed’s before, you know their size is usually on the very small side and vibrant colors. You can see from the photo of this fish that it is much larger and darker than normal and I can refer to the common saying for large panfish, “it’s the size of a paper plate!”. Great job Jordan Tontarski!

Last Updated on December 29, 2020 by Fish HV Contributors