Pennsylvania angler catches 'beautiful fish' rarely seen in Lake Erie

An 18-year-old fisherman from Pennsylvania has caught a species that's not often seen in Lake Erie — an Atlantic salmon.

Colton Alex was participating in a walleye and steelhead tournament when he hooked into the large catch, GoErie.com reported.

The Atlantic salmon that Alex reeled in weighed 10.4 pounds and measured 30 inches in length.

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This specific salmon species is a rare catch for Lake Erie, especially for one as large as Alex reeled in.

A Pennsylvania fisherman reeled in a rare Atlantic salmon (actual catch not pictured) while on Lake Erie during a fishing tournament. (iStock)

Alex has caught many Atlantic salmon from other locations, but he has never hooked one in Erie, Go Erie reported.

"I’ve been fishing my entire life on Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, tons of tournaments," Alex told the outlet.

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"I’ve caught my fair share of salmon. I caught Atlantics in Ontario, but I never caught one in Erie or even seen one being caught, and it was by far the biggest one I even heard of being caught."

The fish put up a fight and led the young angler to believe he had caught a large steelhead, but after netting the fish he immediately noticed the jaw categorizing it as a salmon, the news source added.

It wasn't until he saw the spots on the large catch that he realized he reeled in an Atlantic salmon.

While he was thrilled about the catch, he still had a tournament to complete, so he didn't allow himself to get sidetracked by the celebration.

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"I was excited about it but definitely more focused on the tournament. But I was more excited about it after the tournament," he said.

It wasn't until Colton Alex looked inside his net that he realized the fish he had caught was a salmon, more specifically, an Atlantic salmon, which is rarely reeled in from Lake Erie in Pennsylvania. (iStock)

Alex was alongside Captain Joe Nemet of Nemesis Sport Fishing when he caught the fish.

Nemet told Fox News Digital that Atlantic salmon are considered to be "unicorn fish" even in Lake Ontario, where several species of salmon are most present.

"You may catch 150 to 200 salmon and catch one Atlantic," Nemet said. "It's a rare occurrence in these other lakes and this being in Lake Erie [makes it] more rare… what was more special was it was very big."

Nemet labeled Alex's catch as a "very beautiful fish." He even touted it as the largest Atlantic salmon he had ever seen.

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"The odds of [the catch], I wouldn't like to speculate, but it's pretty small," Nemet said. "I never dreamed it could come from Lake Erie."

Colton Alex (pictured here) was joined by Captain Joe Nemet with Nemesis Sport Fishing in Erie, Pennsylvania, when he reeled in the large fish. (Nemesis Sport Fishing)

Nemet believes the fish may have crossed into Erie from Lake Huron, because it didn't have its adipose fin. He believes the fins are removed from the Atlantic that are stocked in Lake Huron, which borders the U.S. and Canada.

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Alex donated his fish to S.O.N.S. (Save Our Native Species) of Lake Erie, so the meat could be used for one of the organization's dinners.

For now, both Alex and Nemet intend to have replica mounts of the fish made to hold onto the memory and showcase them on their walls.

Captain Joe Nemet of Nemesis Sport Fishing in Lake, Erie, Pennsylvania, said Colton Alex's catch (pictured here) is not one often seen in Lake Erie. "The rarity and the size" made it special, Nemet told Fox News Digital. (Nemesis Sport Fishing)

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"It was a really cool catch and I would encourage people to go fish farther out in the lake and in deeper water if they have a goal of catching a Lake Erie salmon. Go do it. Put the time in. It’s not easy, but it’s a lot more possible than most people think," Alex told Go Erie.

Fox News Digital reached out to Alex for comment.