Fin clipped perch pulled, measured 143mm (close to 5-5/8")
Growth of Perch in aquarium calculated out to 1.94mm/day which considering being in aquarium with 100's of FHM I don't believe this to be anything "super-natural" and I'm not sure it could ever be duplicated in the wild. I have been trying to purposely trap and catch small perch from the pond and I have actually caught well over 100 now-most are in the 4.5" range, some slightly smaller and larger.
I managed to get both otoliths pulled in 1 piece without breaking and with the size (never attempted a walleye this small)I'm a bit surprised I found both. I did this a couple of days ago and generally we dry them for 4-6 days then drop them in epoxy cups which I will be doing Saturday and after a few days they will be sawed in half and sent for verification.
In my fishing/trapping efforts the last 12-14 days, I've found several unexpected surprises that prove to me #1, "It can happen to anyone", and #2, sometimes there "is" no answer..
First surprise was a 4-1/2" GSF...go figure.
Second surprise was a 13-1/2" BCP. Not sure if 1 or 2 applies to any of this.
I have been slightly disappointed in the fact that fishing with high-end, finesse methods that I have not caught a SMB on FHM, GSH or Worms. I've caught several of the elusive RES, some beautiful males and females, and about every size of Perch I had hoped to see this early (within 1 yr of stocking).
I should have an answer on perch age within a couple of weeks, I'll report here.
