Rarely seen fish species caught by Pennsylvania fisherman in Lake Erie.

An Atlantic salmon, not commonly found in Lake Erie, has been caught by an 18-year-old fisherman from Pennsylvania.

GoErie.com reported that Colton Alex caught a large walleye and steelhead during a tournament.

Alex caught an Atlantic Salmon weighing 10.4 pounds and measuring 30 inches in length.

Alex's catch of a rare, large salmon species from Lake Erie is a remarkable feat.

Alex has never hooked an Atlantic salmon in Erie, despite catching many from other locations, according to Go Erie.

Alex, who has spent his entire life fishing on Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, has participated in numerous tournaments, shared this information with the outlet.

"I have caught my fair share of salmon, including Atlantics in Ontario, but I have never caught one in Erie or even seen one being caught. The largest one I have heard of being caught was significantly larger than any I have caught."

The young angler was led to believe he had caught a large steelhead, but after netting the fish, he noticed the jaw and realized it was a salmon, according to the news source.

He realized he reeled in an Atlantic salmon only after seeing the spots on the large catch.

Although he was excited about the catch, he remained focused on completing the tournament, preventing himself from getting distracted by the celebration.

"I was excited about the tournament, but my focus was more on the tournament. However, I became more excited about it after the tournament," he said.

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

Atlantic salmon are referred to as "unicorn fish" in Lake Ontario, where multiple salmon species are abundant, according to Nemet's statement to Planet Chronicle Digital.

"Nemet stated that catching 150 to 200 salmon and one Atlantic in Lake Erie is a rare occurrence, especially since it is located in a lake where such events are not common. However, what made the experience even more special was the size of the salmon caught."

Alex's catch was labeled as a "very beautiful fish" by Nemet, who also boasted about it being the largest Atlantic salmon he had ever encountered.

"Nemet stated that the chances of [the catch] were small, and he didn't want to speculate, but it came from Lake Erie."

Nemet speculates that the fish may have originated from Erie instead of Lake Huron due to the absence of its adipose fin. He suggests that the fins are removed from Atlantic fish that are stocked in Lake Huron, which lies on the border between the United States and Canada.

Alex contributed his fish to S.O.N.S. (Save Our Native Species) of Lake Erie, allowing the meat to be utilized for one of the organization's dinners.

Both Alex and Nemet plan to create replica mounts of their fish to preserve their memories and display them on their walls.

Alex advised Go Erie to fish farther out in the lake and in deeper water if they wanted to catch a Lake Erie salmon. He encouraged people to put in the time and effort, as it may not be easy, but it's definitely possible.

Planet Chronicle Digital reached out to Colton Alex for omment.