New State Record Yellow Perch!

[Johnsfolly]

What a toad of a yellow perch! That one has been eating well and looks to be loaded with eggs.

 

Jefferson County angler catches new state record yellow perch The 2-pound, 7-ounce fish is the first state record of 2021. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) congratulates Sharon Christopher of Cedar Hill for catching a new state record yellow perch. Christopher was fishing at Bull Shoals Lake March 7 when she caught the 2-pound, 7-ounce fish. “I got lucky because I am not an avid fisherman,” laughed Christopher. “My husband and I were out crappie fishing with some friends of ours when I reeled in this big fish. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but luckily our friends immediately recognized it as a yellow perch. The funny thing is, they were in a separate boat pretty far away from us and could tell how big it was.” Later that evening, Christopher said her husband was cleaning the crappie they caught and saved the perch for last. “My friend stopped him just in time and said, ‘Don’t touch that fish!’,” she recalled. “That perch was about to go under the knife, but my friend just said, ‘I think she’s got something.’ And sure enough we put the fish on our scale and saw that it beat the current record.” After getting in touch with MDC staff, the perch was weighed on a certified scale at MDC’s Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery in Branson. It’s the first state-record of 2021. “I’m super excited,” Christopher said. “Again, I got really lucky. I’m a nurse and work a lot of long hours. I use fishing as a way to relax and enjoy myself, so when I caught this, I was showing everyone I work with the pictures!” The previous record was a 2-pound, 3-ounce fish caught from Bull Shoals Lake in Jan. 2020. Christopher said the fish is going to be mounted. “The funny thing is I do not eat fish! My neighbor’s son is a taxidermist and he is mounting the fish for us,” she said. Missouri state-record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include: trotlines, throwlines, limblines, banklines, juglines, spearfishing, snagging, snaring, gigging, grabbing, archery, and atlatl. For more information on state-record fish, visit http://bit.ly/2efq1vl. CAPTION: Sharon Christopher of Cedar Hill is the first record-holder of 2021 after catching a 2-pound, 7-ounce yellow perch March 7 from Bull Shoals Lake.

Find this and other MDC media releases in our MDC online Newsroom.

[MrGiggles]

I wish MDC would stock those in Stockton and Bull. Good eating.

[Dutch]

36 minutes ago, MrGiggles said:

I wish MDC would stock those in Stockton and Bull. Good eating.

They are in Bull Shoals and have been for decades.  
 

Why don’t you call them and ask?  Maybe that will spark an interest.  You could get a petition started.  I bet a bunch of guys here would sign it.

[45acp]

I renovated an old farm pond on my property a few years back.

Decided to try something other than the normal bluegill/largemouth/channel cat mix.

Stocked forage minnows spring of '19, redear sunfish and northern crayfish June of '19, yellow perch September of '19.

Caught this one a couple days ago.  

 

[FishnDave]

Couple of really nice perch!  Congrats to the angler with the new State Record.  I'm suprised they didn't list a length...looks like a long fish. 👍

[Johnsfolly]

1 hour ago, 45acp said:

I renovated an old farm pond on my property a few years back.

Decided to try something other than the normal bluegill/largemouth/channel cat mix.

Stocked forage minnows spring of '19, redear sunfish and northern crayfish June of '19, yellow perch September of '19.

Caught this one a couple days ago.  

 

What a football! Surprised that one didn't pop when you held her !

[45acp]

I treated her very gently while she was out of the water.  Put her on the dock long enough to snap a pic, then right back in the water.

[Johnsfolly]

4 minutes ago, 45acp said:

I treated her very gently while she was out of the water.  Put her on the dock long enough to snap a pic, then right back in the water.

We get a yellow perch run in Feb/Mar and now a white perch run in the local creeks. My daughter tends to catch the excited males if you know what I mean .

[MrGiggles]

4 hours ago, Dutch said:

They are in Bull Shoals and have been for decades.  
 

Why don’t you call them and ask?  Maybe that will spark an interest.  You could get a petition started.  I bet a bunch of guys here would sign it.

I know, but they don't actively stock them in Bull, and I don't think anyone really knows how they got there in the first place. 

There are really no good places that I know of to catch them in Missouri. Bull has a few, and I read somewhere that Forest Lake up by Kirksville has some.

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

lake Lotowana up by Lees Summit has some in it