Fishing Hall-of-Famer hooks record setting perch
A Fishing Hall–of–Famer who holds 53 world records in the sport hooked a state record perch on Lake St. Clair.
Adrian dentist Scott Smith and a friend were still fishing with minnow bait on the freshwater basin that connects Lake Huron and Lake Erie last month, when their last catch of the day proved to be a monster.
Smith reeled in a white perch weighing 2 pounds, 5.92 ounces and measuring 16.25 inches.
The whale of a perch bested the previous Michigan record, a 2-pound, 13.57 incher caught by Cindy Cordo of Muskegon County in Bear Lake in 2015.
Smith holds a mix of line–class and all–tackle awards in fly fishing and has participated in fishing tournaments around the globe, but the white perch is smith’s first state–record fish.
The world champion angler and fly-fishing instructor said he has been casting Michigan waters for close to 65 years.
“I grew up fishing the Detroit River. We used to ride our bikes down there as kids, throw in a line with our bait and ‘ride’ the catch home,” Smith said.
The humble fisherman added:
“Sometimes you’re in the right spot at the right time, and sometimes you just get lucky.”
A fisheries biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources verified Smith’s perch.