Angler adds to ‘world champ’ status with ‘monstrous’ white perch

No stranger to setting fishing world records, Hall of Fame angler Scott Smith set a state record with his latest catch from Lake St. (...)

No stranger to setting world records, Hall of Fame fisherman Scott Smith set a state record with his latest catch from Lake St. Clair, Michigan—a 2-pound, 5.92-ounce white perch which he called “monstrous.”

The fish measured 16.25 inches and beat the previous state record of 2 pounds and 13.57 inches caught in 2015 by Cindy Cordo at Bear Lake in Muskegan County, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Smith made the catch on April 25 using a minnow. The record catch was verified by fisheries biologist Cleyo Harris.

Smith, who has been fishing close to 65 years, caught his first world-record fish in 1996.

“After setting his first world record from the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame for a rainbow trout in 1996, he was hooked,” the MDNR stated. “He now holds 53 world records – a mix of line-class and all-tackle awards – in fly fishing and has participated in fishing tournaments around the globe.”

The white perch was his first state-record fish.

“Sometimes you’re in the right spot at the right time, and sometimes you just get lucky,” Smith said.