Yellow perch are popular among anglers fishing in northern waters for being a tasty “panfish.” While yellow perch are cousins to the walleye, they are not native to Arkansas or southern Missouri.
In 1998, the Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed yellow perch in the Missouri side of Bull Shoals Lake. In 1999, the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission (AGFC) collected them on the Arkansas side. Biologists believe this was the first documented case of yellow perch existing in Arkansas waters. It is unknown how the yellow perch got into Bull Shoals Lake, but biologists believe it was through angler introduction. Since then, anglers have frequently caught yellow perch while fishing Bull Shoals Lake. By the late 2000s, biologists had documented yellow perch in the Bull Shoals Tailwater, with them likely being introduced into the system through flood gate releases.
On Feb. 25, 2021, biologists collected a yellow perch while sampling trout in the Norfork Tailwater, which is the first time biologists have documented this species in the tailwater. Biologists believe this yellow perch likely came from the Bull Shoals Tailwater, as there has not been an official documentation or angler report of yellow perch caught in Norfork Lake.
The AGFC classifies yellow perch as a “rough fish” in Arkansas; therefore, there are no length or daily limits for this species in Arkansas fisheries.
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