West Virginia Week in Review - May 28, 2022

West Virginia lakes and streams continue to produce both trophy-sized game fish and record catches. On Saturday, May 7, Ayden Minick of Mt. Pleasant, PA, caught and released a new state record common carp while fishing from the bank of Summersville Lake in Nicholas County. Minick’s record fish was 41.2 inches long and weighed 45.2 pounds. The trophy carp surpassed the previous West Virginia length record of 41.0 inches caught in 1988 by Charles Cook at Stonecoal Lake. However, Minick’s fish did not beat the current weight record of 47.0 pounds caught in a Preston County farm pond by Gary Johnson in 1998.

On May 25, Steve Price of Lancaster, OH, caught and released an impressive blue catfish that broke the state record for both weight and length. He was fishing from a boat on the lower section of the Kanawha River between Buffalo and Point Pleasant. Price’s record fish was 50.7 inches long and weighed 67.22 pounds. The trophy catfish eclipsed the weight record of 61.28 pounds held by Cody Carver for only seven weeks and also broke the length record of 50.15 inches held by Justin Goode since 2021.

On Wednesday, the West Virginia Department of Education announced the recipients of the 2022 Albert Yanni Scholarships. Thirty career technical education (CTE) students in West Virginia were awarded this coveted $2,000 scholarship for the upcoming school year. The Albert Yanni Scholarship provides CTE students an opportunity to pursue advanced education and/or training related to their career aspirations. The application process is rigorous involving two rounds of thorough and extensive review of more than 80 applicants.