Tennessee has a new state record perch and the pot-bellied panfish was caught by a Michigan man.
Yellow perch records are being set all over the place lately. We've seen old records toppled in West Virginia, Iowa, and Ohio.
Add a new Tennessee state record to the list, because that too has just been confirmed...again!
Jeremy Lorenze caught a 2-pound, 5-ounce yellow perch on March 26 in Polk County on the Ocoee Number Three reservoir. Lorenze hails from Michigan and was visiting his cousin, Eric Reed, in Birchwood. The pair decided to go fishing, so Lorenze purchased a three-day fishing license and the two men headed for the Ocoee Number Three.
Interestingly, Reed noticed a bald eagle circling an area above the lake and the men decided to take their cue from the bird of prey. They motored over to the spot, hooked a couple of minnows to their lines, and waited.
Soon Lorenze had a fish on. Its weight made him think he had hooked a bass, but as he got it to the boat, both men were surprised to see that it was instead a very large perch.
The fish measured 15.75 inches. It beat the former Tennessee state record, caught by Richard Marsich just last summer, by only two ounces. Marsich's fish tied the then-state record by matching the weight of a fish caught by Trent McCoy in 2017. It seems that Tennessee is fast becoming a go-to state for big perch.
Lorenze stated, "I'm a captain and I've fished Lake Erie my entire life and I've never seen a perch this large." By the way, the Ohio Lake Erie perch record currently stands at 2-pounds, 14-ounces.
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