How an 8-year-old Delco kid is reeling with fame after catching a piranha in Ridley Park Lake

When 8-year-old angler Seamus Coffey reeled in a 2-pound, red-bellied creature with menacing teeth last weekend, he knew exactly what he’d caught.

“That’s a piranha!” Mike Coffey recalled his son screaming on the banks of Ridley Park Lake.

Surely, Mike thought, Seamus was mistaken — this must just be a bluegill or sunfish or a bass. A quick reverse image search confirmed Seamus’ hunch.

“No, Dad,” Seamus, who loves watching fishing videos on YouTube, insisted, “that’s a piranha.”

The Folsom family’s latest catch has become a national sensation: After Seamus made the front page of the Delaware County Daily Times (Mike bought seven copies), their story was picked up by the likes of 6abc and CBS Philadelphia. TV reporters and Facebook commenters warned: “You’re about to go viral.” Eventually, the story found its way onto Fox News, the New York Post, and Inside Edition.

Now, Seamus is a budding influencer and wannabe YouTuber. Brands are sending him fishing gear, according to de facto manager and agent Mike, who is fielding media requests and running a GoFundMe for filming equipment. Their new Instagram persona, @ReelTalkPiranha, bills them as the “father-and-son duo who took down the infamous Delco Piranha.”

“I understand it’s an extremely, extremely rare circumstance to catch the fish that we did, but we did not expect anything like this,” Mike said of their virality.

Seamus, meanwhile, hasn’t quite internalized his newfound fame. His bashful TV appearances have been clipped for social media — “I’m everywhere,” Mike recalled his son saying while scrolling on the couch — but he “doesn’t really understand how big it is.”

“He’s 8,” Mike said.

Last Saturday started as a normal day of fishing for the Coffeys. Armed with frozen shrimp, they cast their reels hoping to maybe catch a catfish. After a little more than an hour, Seamus pulled in the piranha.

Mike Parker, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission , said biologists visually confirmed it was a “species of piranha.” No other piranhas have been reported at the lake.

The South American tropical fish was likely a pet whose owner dumped it in the Delco lake — a crime punishable by misdemeanor charges or fines, according to Parker.

“If you have one of these exotic pets and you can no longer take care of it ... you have to understand you’re responsible for that animal,” Parker warned. “Releasing it isn’t only illegal, but it’s really cruel.”

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While concerning and unusual, Parker said his agency does not believe this is a serious or ongoing threat. Frankly, tropical fish cannot survive a Pennsylvania winter, he said. (Mike Coffey said he humanely killed the fish and threw it back into the water.)

“A lot of things happen for a reason,” Mike Coffey said. Seamus “had lucky catch that day and it took off.”

He added: “I guess there’ll be more to come.”