- Details
By Louie Stout
Blas Lara of Highland, Ind. with Record Yellow Perch
There are jumbo yellow perch in Lake Michigan…and then there’s this monster.
If you thought 12- inch perch were jumbos, Blas Lara of Highland, Ind. blows those away. His nearly 17 incher also blew away the Indiana’s state record with the 3.135 pounder caught during the Mayor McDermott’s Fishing Derby last weekend.
Lara’s yellow perch, caught from shore, broke the old record of 2 pounds, 8 ounces set in 1981 from a southern Indiana gravel pit.
He caught his giant while fishing a golden roach livebait under a bobber while actually fishing for smallmouth in the Hammond Marina. The fish was weighed at the Strack & VanTil Food Market.
Interestingly, that store sells yellow perch by the pound in its seafood section. If someone were to buy that record fish for dinner, it would cost him $53.26.
Yellow perch have begun their spawning run in Lake Michigan so that likely contributed to the weight. However, there are likely more giants like it swimming out there. Several 15 and 16 inchers were caught in northwest Indiana by boat anglers last winter.
Lake Michigan DNR Biologist Ben Dickinson said earlier this year that the growth rate among yellow perch has been astounding.
“We’re seeing 12- and 14-inch perch that are 6 to 8 years old,” Dickinson said. “In previous years, those fish were 10 to 14 years old.”
Why the rapid growth? Either there is more food to go around or, due to lower perch numbers over the past several years, there is less competition for food.
“When we began seeing the rapid growth numbers, we thought maybe something was off in our data, but Illinois biologists tell us that they are seeing the same thing.”
- Details
By Louie Stout
The Indiana DNR collected all of the muskie eggs needed from Lake Webster recently to provide stockings in the future.
The crazy spring weather had them scrambling. While the massive egg-taking project usually begins after April 1, staffers hit the lake a week earlier but still got 95 adults to meet stocking demands. The eggs were stripped from females and milt taken from males before the fish were released back in the lake.
“This was the earliest I can recall when we found ripe muskies,” said Tyler Delauder, lead biologist on the project. “We would have liked to have seen more fish, but we did the best we could and got what the hatchery needed.”
- Details
By Louie Stout
Got a lot of tackle you want to unload? Looking to stock up on cost saving gear? The Michiana Walleye Club’s Fishing Tackle Swap Meet offers that opportunity.
The event will be Saturday, March 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the club grounds at 13040 Day Road in Mishawaka. Tackle displays can include all types of fishing gear.
The cost for vendors is $25 per table while admission for shoppers ages 16 and over is $5. Food and beverage will be available for purchase.
Vendors can get more information by calling Mike Titus, 574-326-0347 or emailing miketitus2023@gmail.com.
- Details
By Louie Stout
Young Muskie Fingerking
Angler assistance has become an important part of muskie management on northern Indiana lakes.
Much of that assistance is coming from guides and muskie club members who purchased their own tag scanners and provide the DNR information of tagged fish they catch.
When muskies are stocked, they are implanted with a tiny tag that can be read with a relatively inexpensive hand-held scanner. It’s similar to the tags and scanners used for dogs and cats.
The angler sends the DNR a mobile phone picture of the tag number on the scanner along with length and any other details. Fisheries officials provide that angler with details about the fish.
In 2022 there were 122 tags submitted and another 150 were submitted last summer.