Ice fisherman ties Nevada's yellow perch record: 'I thought it was a trout'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An ice fisherman in Nevada has officially tied the state record for yellow perch (Nevada Department of Wildlife)
Yup, that’s the record.
An ice fisherman in Nevada has officially tied the state record for yellow perch, snagging a 13.5-inch specimen weighing 1 pound, 8 ounces, the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) confirmed.
John Shorter III reeled in the yellow perch at Elko County’s Wild Horse Reservoir on Feb. 16 — a whole 32 years after the original record set by Warren Todd Goodale at Dufurrena Pond in 1987.
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“He’s had the record since 1987, so he’s had quite a run,” Shorter told NDOW.
Shorter added that he and a friend actually caught multiple fish – including 56 other perch – before hooking the “big” one, which he initially believed to be a trout because of how it felt on the line.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I thought it was a trout because it was putting up way more of a fight than the perch had put up. We put it on the ice, and I said, ‘We’ve got to get this thing measured,’” he said.
A conservation expert with NDOW also called the catch encouraging, considering drought and larger predators have made ice-fishing trips less fruitful in recent years.
“This is the first year in probably six years, maybe even seven, that people were actually catching a lot of keeper size perch through the ice,” Joe Doucette said. “In fact, last year I couldn’t remember any perch being caught at all, so it’s very exciting.
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NDOW added that several lakes in eastern Nevada are still “in good shape” for ice fishing.