Second Yellow Perch Stocking Scheduled for Grand Lake St. Marys in Ohio
OutdoorHub 05.30.13
Approximately 100,000 yellow perch fingerlings will be released at Grand Lake St. Marys on Friday, May 31, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). This is the second year that Ohio’s largest inland lake has received a stocking of yellow perch. In 2012, 100,408 yellow perch were stocked.
Friday’s yellow perch stocking is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the East Bank Marina, near the ODNR Division of Wildlife’s St. Marys State Fish Hatchery.
A fingerling is approximately 1.5 to 2 inches long, and it will take about three years for the fish stocked Friday to reach a size large enough to keep. This will help boost future fishing opportunities provided by the existing population.
A long-term goal is to establish a self-sustaining yellow perch fishery at Grand Lake St. Marys and eliminate the need for additional stockings, through a naturally-reproducing population. Perch, being a predator fish, may also be effective in reducing the rough fish population.
Grand Lake St. Marys crappie fishing has also been excellent during the past two years, and anglers continue to reel in large numbers of good-sized fish. Bluegill and bass fishing is also excellent.
