It is possible that a world record Northern Pike or Muskellunge could be swimming in the depths of the Allegheny Reservoir?

“I honestly believe this,” said Brian Ensign, a fisheries biologist for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Working Area 2 of the State’s fisheries management program, Ensign is in charge of any survey conducted in the waters of the 13-county area that makes up Area 2, which includes the Allegheny Reservoir, commonly known as the Kinzua Dam.

“Its the ‘Fish Bowl Syndrome,” noted Ensign, adding, “the bigger the bowl, the bigger the fish.”

Built for flood control of the Allegheny River in the early 1960s, the reservoir is a large fish bowl. With waters in Warren and McKean counties in Pennsylvania, and Cattaraugus County in neighboring New York State, the dam, a summer pool, is 27 miles long, covers 33 square miles, has a maximum depth of 130 feet and offers 91 miles of shoreline for fishing.

Ensign also uses the “Kinzua Giant” to reinforce his conviction of the possibility of a world record in the impoundment.

The “Kinzua Giant” is a 53-pound, 14-ounce Muskellunge that was netted in the Chapple Bay area of the dam during a survey conducted in the spring of 1984. The 13-year-old female was 54 and 5/8 inches long with a girth of 29.5 inches.

On July 24, 1949, Cal Johnson landed a 67-pound, eight-ounce “Lunge” in Hayward, Wisconsin, to establish the current world record, leaving the Chapple Bay fish just a shade under 14 pounds shy of the mark. While not qualifying for any records, as it was not taken by rod and reel, the Kinzua fish was within a few ounces of the Pa. state record of 54 pounds, three ounces, set by Lewis Walker, Jr., with a fish taken from Conneaut Lake in 1924.

The location of the dam in the mountains of the Northwestern part of the state plays an important role in the development of large fish, as does the food source.

“The elevation of the reservoir means cooler water, which slows the growth rate of the fish,” said Ensign. “That, and the amount of forage fish available at any give time, in this case Spottail and Bluntnose Shines, Redfin and White Suckers, along with the size of the panfish population of Crappie, Bluegill and Perch.”

With these two important factors in play, Ensign feels that any world record fish caught in the reservoir will be very old.

“Very, very old,” Ensign said.

When asked about the possibility of world record for other species of fish in the dam, Ensign said, “that reservoir has the potential for anything.”

Every year, Muskies over 50 inches are taken from the dam, so it just may be a matter of time before Ensign’s prediction comes to fruition. A current and former state record have been hauled through the ice of the reservoir.

Mike Holley, of Bradford, pulled a then-state record 17-pound, nine-ounce Walleye from the waters of Warren County in 1980. Holly’s record fell on Oct. 28, 2021, when Richard Nicholson, of Connellsville, landed a 34-inch, 18-pound and one-ounce Walleye while fishing the Youghiogheny River in Fayette County.

At the time, Holly’s trophy was seven pounds and seven ounces away from the world record of 25 pounds, set by Mabry Harper, of Tennessee, in 1960. Carl Stoltz, also of Bradford, holds the current state record with a 35-pound Northern Pike landed on New Year’s Day 2003 while fishing the Red Bridge area of the Kinzua Arm.

The fish measured 49.5 inches long and had a girth of 21.5 inches. Taken on an eight-inch Golden Shiner, the monster put up a 20-minute battle before entering the record book.

The world record 55-pound Pike was caught in Germany by Lothar Louis in 1986, leaving Stoltz’s fish 20 pounds short.

“I can’t believe it has lasted this long,” Stoltz said. “I think it will be broken by someone fishing through the ice.”