As far as anglers and record fish go, this has been a heck of a year.
Since January, three records for species of fish that have stood as the biggest ever caught in the Hoosier State have been shattered, sending waves through the fishing world. Maybe something is in the water!
For starters, the New Year was just days old when Anthony Burke landed a burbot form Lake Michigan beating the previous long-standing record by three pounds. His fish weighed 14.36 pounds.
Then in April, Rex Remington set the angling world abuzz when he caught an 8.23-pound smallmouth bass from Lake Monroe eclipsing the previous record by over a pound.
Several weeks back another record was beaten. That was when Blas Lara decided to take part in the Mayor’s Fishing Tournament held at Hammond City Marina. The tourney is a free, family oriented event, which prohibits the use of boats and is open to shore anglers only. According to organizers of the tourney, prizes are awarded for the largest salmon, trout and bass. Yellow perch is not included.
It didn’t matter. Even though Lara did not win the annual event he was still the talk of the marina and town. He made a huge splash which had nothing to do with falling in the water. That’s because he caught a jumbo yellow perch during the derby, breaking a state record that’s stood for 43 years. His fish weighed 3 pounds, 2 ounces, and beat out the previous record by more than half a pound. Lara reportedly caught his perch from one of the docks at the marina on the shore of Lake Michigan in Lake County. The previous Indiana record was caught in a gravel pit in Vigo County by fisherman Roy W. Burkel Jr., about three hours south of the area where Lara caught his fish. It weighed 2 pounds, 8 ounces.
Both live bait and artificial lures are allowed during the event but Lara has been tight-lipped on the exact bait he was using. As you would expect, when the marina posted pictures of Lara’s catch several questioned his decision to keep the fish while others said the perch population is stable enough to warrant keeping the fish.
According to the IDNR Lara’s fish was a huge female loaded with eggs. Not surprising when considering mid-April to mid-June is normally when perch typically spawn in Indiana’s portion of Lake Michigan.
Through the years, yellow perch populations have seen a decline but now their numbers seem to be increasing. People prize yellow perch for their succulent flavor. Many believe, me included, they are some of the best tasting freshwater fish.
Yellow perch are native to Lake Michigan, are very popular among anglers because they are delicious and can be easy to catch. While their numbers have dipped in recent years, it seems big jumbo perch have become more prevalent.
“Perch growth rates have accelerated over the past few years, with many reaching true trophy sizes at younger ages than in the past,” said IDNR Lake Michigan fisheries research biologist Ben Dickinson. “Many anglers have been catching true ‘jumbo’ perch, in the 14- to-17-inch size class over the past two years.”
For many of us old-timers, as well as a few biologists, we can never remember when three records fell within the same year. Will the trend continue? Only time will tell. However, it does give us another reason to try our luck on Indiana waters. You never know, you could be the next new record-holder.
TOURNEY RESULTS
• Paul Crow and Wayne Eades won Tuesday’s Delphi-Delco team bass tourney, held on Mississinewa Reservoir, with five fish totaling 8 pounds, 4 ounces. Second place went to Keith Milburn and Kyle Hobbs with four fish weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces. Deb and Terry Roe rounded out third place, also winning “big bass” honor, with two fish totaling 5 pounds, 4 ounces. Their largest tipped the scales at 3 pounds, 14 ounces.
• Eric Kinney and Dan Hinkle swept Monday’s Kokomo Reservoir open team bass tourney, taking first place and “biggest fish” honors, with four largemouth bass totaling 12.72 pounds. Their largest tipped the digital scales at 4.32 pounds. Brad Parsons and Ken Waisner brought in second with five fish weighing 12.30 pounds. Rounding out third place were Aaron Hochstedler and John Pridemore with five fish weighing 11.67 pounds.
