Yellow Perch Record Broken for Second Time in 2020

There’s an apparent run on record yellow perch in Missouri, which has seen the species' state record beaten twice in the first month.

Just days after the record was broken at a private pond in Nodaway County, Brian Holiday of Fordland re-set it on Jan. 27 with a nice 2-pound, 3-ounce perch out of Bull Shoals Lake. The previous record of 1-11 caught by Tyler Halley of Maryville on Jan. 24 had beaten a record (1-11) that had stood since 2009, the Missouri Department of Conservation said.

"Missouri is on the very southern range for yellow perch, so records for this fish are uncommon,” said MDC Fisheries Programs Specialist Andrew Branson. "It's even more unique that we’ve had two state-record yellow perch caught within days of each other."

Holiday’s catch was certified as a state record by MDC staff.

Missouri state-record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include: throwlines, limb lines, bank lines, jug lines, spearfishing, snagging, snaring, gigging, grabbing, archery, and atlatl.

For more information on state-record fish in Missouri click here.

Check out other Game & Fish stories on record fish