My 2006 Arkansas State Record Yellow Perch

Below is an article I wrote for the Arkansas Game and Fish Magazine in 2006:

Fishing the clear water at Bull Shoals Lake on the Arkansas-Missouri border can be a challenge, especially in the warm summer months when fish move away from the banks and suspend over deep water. My preferred method for chasing fish is trolling during July, August and September. Trolling behind my pontoon boat allows me to cover a larger amount of water than by casting, and the lure constantly stays the strike zone.

July 4th started out much cooler that a typical summer day with intermittent storms forecasted. Looking like it might be a good day on the water, my in-laws agreed to watch our two children for a few hours while my wife and I went trolling.

We started on the flats directly in front of the Hwy. 125 campground and headed toward the ferry. My depth finder was showing the thermocline around 28 feet, so I put a Norman DD-22 on all three trolling rods with enough line out to hopefully reach depths of 25-27 feet. I was trying to keep the boat in 40 to 60 feet of water, but the contour of the land made it difficult.

Just as we were rounding the point by the ferry, my rod started jumping. My wife and I take turns reeling in fish when we fish together, and it was my turn. As I got the fish close to the boat, I thought to myself that it could be a yellow perch and that it might even be big enough for a state record. My father-in-law and I have caught five or six yellow perch in the last few years, but they have all been between six and eight inches long. The fish on the line was a bit over 14 inches long, and I did not know if they grew to be that big.

My wife, who has never seen a yellow perch before, said, “WOW…it’s a peacock bass!” When we are not actually fishing, we like to spend Saturday mornings watching fishing on television. These shows often feature peacock bass fishing trips to South America, and my wife is fascinated with them. I quickly told her that it definitely was not a peacock bass, but I could, see some color similarities between the two fish (just to make her feel better).

The fish’s air sack had expanded enough to protrude from its mouth since it was caught in deep water. I put him in the live well but the fish died almost immediately. We decided to head back to the dock and get the fish on ice.

Kevin Jones with the "biggest little fish" in Arkansas - 2006

When we got back to the house, I immediately did a search on the internet to see what the Arkansas state record was for yellow perch. To my surprise, there was no record listed on any of the sites I visited. I tried to call the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, but it was not open since it was a holiday.

When I called the next day, I spoke to Ken Shirley, District Supervisor – Fisheries Division for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. I told him that I thought that I had a large yellow perch, and that I could not find any indication of a state record. His response was, “If it’s a yellow perch, you have a record. No one has ever checked in a yellow perch in Arkansas.” He asked me questions about the fish in an effort to get a positive identification. With every question, I was getting more exited because I realized that my fish was in fact a yellow perch.

He told me that he was located in Mountain Home, Arkansas and that I needed to bring the fish in to be weighed on an official scale. The next morning, my wife and I got up early and hit the road hoping to arrive as soon as the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission opened. When we arrived, everyone at the facility was excited to see the fish, and upon inspection, they confirmed that it was a yellow perch. They were sincerely interested in my story asked all the typical questions anyone would ask about a nice fish like, “Where did you catch him? What did you catch him on?” etc.

We met Ken, and he was very eager to help us with our fish. It was nice to talk with him and ask all the questions that have been in my head about the fishing at Bull Shoals. He was very informative, and Dawn and I both enjoyed his stories.

Since Ken’s office did not have and official scale, we went to the local post office to use one of their scales. Given the events of 9/11, we had to get special permission to be admitted to the back area where the scale was located. While we were waiting, people in line were giving us some pretty funny looks since we were holding a cooler with a fish wrapped in newspaper.

Once we weighed the fish, Ken asked to see the documentation that stated that the scale was certified. Unfortunately, they could not find any paperwork, so we had to find another scale in town.

Since Mountain Home is not that big of a town, our choices were becoming limited. Ken made a few phone calls and found out that the local supermarket had an official scale that we could use. The scale was in the meat cutting department, so we were very cautious as to not let the fish touch anything except the butcher paper that was provided. The guys working in that department were excited to see that catch but quickly returned to work once the fish hit the scale.

The official weight was 1.24 lbs. Ken recorded the weight and thanked the store manager, and we headed back to Ken’s office where he submitted the information to make the record official. He said, “You will receive an official certificate from the state in the next few months, and your name will be in all of 2007 Arkansas fishing regulations handbooks.”

Many fishermen grow up having dreams of catching a state record fish, and usually it’s a largemouth or smallmouth bass or walleye. Yellow perch is rarely at the top of an anglers list (at least in Arkansas!) My boss affectionately refers to my fish as “the biggest little fish in Arkansas”. It’s not a 15 lb. largemouth, but it is a state record, and I will remember that 4th of July every time I look at that fish on my wall.