Roy Isaac, 62, of Albany, New York, caught a record breaking crappie on Saturday, August 21st. The 4.42-pound crappie caught on Sleepy Hollow Lake is currently a pending state record. On the face of it, a New York state official believes the fish is a white crappie, though the species of fish won’t be confirmed until later this week. In either case, the fish easily beats current state records which are 3 pounds and 13 ounces for white crappie and 4 pounds and 1 ounce for black crappie.
Isaac was able to reach Sleepy Hollow Lake, which is located in a private condominium, because his friend Abb lives there. Isaac regularly fishes the lake with his 7- and 14-year-old sons. He says it’s safe, clean, and holds big fish. He hooked himself into the pending record crappie from a dock, where he had successively caught larger and larger crappies in the weeks leading up to the record catch, starting with a 1-pound 7-ounce, then a 2-pound 10-ounce, and then a little over a week ago a 3-pound, 10-ounce.
That’s a record right there. Roy Isaac
“When I caught the 3 pound, 10 ounce, I was like, ‘Okay, this has to be a big one,” he says. “And I’ve put it in the same place over and over again. So I said, ‘I’ll go after you [the record]. ‘”
Isaac used a live minnow as bait. He dropped it 25 feet and slowly jigged it up when the monster panfish struck. “All of a sudden I had a hit,” he says. “But then nothing really happened. So I started bringing up the bait. As soon as I was closer to the bank, the fish saw me and flew away. It was good that I adjusted my brakes correctly. “
Isaac used a 4 pound test with an ultralight Panfish rod and reel combo. At first he thought the fish must be a perch because it fought so hard. But he was thrilled when he brought the fish to the surface and found it was a bitch. “It was a nice fight on the 4-pound test, believe me,” he says. “The boy was there a long time. He was so fat and so big for a bastard. To get that big, this fish ate pretty well. “
Len Greer, a longtime resident of Sleepy Hollow Lake and a member of the lake’s management committee, agrees: “My jaw dropped when I saw the crappie … I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The official weighing took place in a local market. BlackHorse Farms via Facebook
Isaac and Greer took the fish to be weighed on the certified scales at BlackHorse Farms, a local fruit and vegetable market. Isaac hopes to meet the former state crappie record holder – and one day break his own record. After the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation inspects the fish, they plan to have it assembled. Above all, he is particularly pleased to have landed the big Panfish while fishing with his sons.
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“My 14 year old son is funny,” says Isaac. “After I pulled it up he said, ‘Dad, you are gross. Why should I fish now? I will be known as the son of the father who caught the record fish. ‘ He made me break down. “
Isaac adds that he couldn’t have done it without the support of the community that is helping make Sleepy Hollow a thriving fishery. For him, fishing is much more than breaking records. “I just love to fish,” he says. “For one thing, it’s peace and quiet. It allows you to get away from it all and focus your thoughts. I bring my boys with me because I just let them know that in today’s world you sometimes need a break somewhere. “
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