Brian Holiday of Fordland is the new a state-record holder after catching a 2-pound, 3-ounce yellow perch from Bull Shoals Lake. This is the second time the record for yellow perch has been broken in 2020.

“Missouri is on the very southern range for yellow perch, so records for this fish are uncommon,” said MDC Fisheries Programs Specialist Andrew Branson. “It’s even more unique that we’ve had two state-record yellow perch caught within days of each other.”

Holiday caught his state-record fish from Bull Shoals Lake Jan. 27 – just three days after a 1-pound, 14-ounce record had been caught in Nodaway County. MDC staff verified Holiday’s fish’s weight using a certified scale in Springfield.

Missouri state-record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include: throwlines, limb lines, bank lines, jug lines, spearfishing, snagging, snaring, gigging, grabbing, archery, and atlatl.