How big is a big perch?

[FredT]

How big do perch get? I lost one boat side yesterday while lifting it out of the water, it had to be every bit of 14 inches long. It was the longest perch I ever saw and my buddy who watched what was going on said the same thing. How big of perch have you guys caught?

[TAG]

Hey Fred,

For me a keeper perch is 9+ inches but a big perch is 12+. Here is a link to the ODNR website that lists what size fish qualifies as a FISH OHIO FISH by species. For perch it is 13+ inches. It's a good reference.

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/FishingSubhomePage/programs__activitiesplaceholder/qualifying_lengths/tabid/17615/Default.aspx

D'arcy Egan had a recent article about Ohio record fish. Here is what he posted about perch.
"With more than a million yellow perch caught each year from Lake Erie, many think the mark may fall some day soon. The 2.75-pound, 14 1/2-inch Lake Erie perch landed by the late Charles Thomas of Lorain, has been around since April 17, 1984. With Pymatuning Reservoir now a hot spot for perch, and filled with forage, the next record could be set at the huge reservoir on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border."
As you can see I had some extra time to kill this morning.

Good Fishing:D

Tag:)

[Erie Sheppard]

14" is a big perch. State record is 14 1/2"