Blackshear Yellow Perch Sets Lake Record

When Georgia anglers think of yellow perch, their first thought is probably some northern lake where walleye are king. The shallow, cypress-laden waters of Lake Blackshear might not come to mind when a yellow perch is mentioned.

That may change now that Stephen Lane, of Cordele, has registered a whopper of a yellow perch that set a new Blackshear lake record. Stephen was bass fishing last Friday, Dec. 11, casting a Yo-Zuri L-Minnow crankbait, when he hooked the yellow perch. He knew he had something special.

Stephen Lane, of Cordele, with the new Lake Blackshear record perch that weighed 1-lb., 5.6-ozs.

“It’s the most beautiful fish I’ve ever caught,” Stephen said.

He took it to SL Sausage Company, where Todd Krause weighed it on certified digital scales at 1.35 pounds. Converted to pounds and ounces, Stephen’s yellow perch goes into the Lake Blackshear records at 1-lb., 5.6-ozs. The perch was 14 1/4 inches long. The fish had strikingly bright orange fins to contrast with the yellow body and dark stripes.

“When we had it out to weight it, I asked a customer what kind of fish it was, and they said peacock bass,” said Todd. “It’s a pretty fish, and unusual for around here.

“I released it in my bream pond—a 20-foot deep, spring-fed pond where I only have bream in it that I catch and use for catfish bait,” Todd said.

The Georgia state record for yellow perch is a 2-lb., 9-oz. fish that was caught in the Savannah River just below Clarks Hill dam in 2013 by Thomas Lewis, of Grovetown.

Stephen Lane’s yellow perch from Lake Blackshear was 14 1/4 inches long.

According to DNR, “Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) are members of the perch family, which includes darters, sauger and walleye. They have a golden yellow body, with six to eight dark vertical bands from back to belly. They prefer cool-water lake environments, but also are found in large rivers and ponds. Their typical diet includes small fish, aquatic insects, small crayfish, snails, midgefly larvae and mayflies. They are great to eat and can be prepared in a variety of ways.”

Lake Blackshear Record Fish