Keith Lusher 03.12.26
A Wisconsin angler may have set a new North Dakota state record after pulling a massive yellow perch through the ice on Devils Lake earlier this month.
Alan Hintz of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, caught the fish on March 1 while fishing with his brother Dale and a group of friends during a guided trip with Perch Patrol Guide Service.
The day did not start with record-breaking expectations. By midday, the brothers had only three perch in their bucket after spending the morning fishing Pelican Bay.
“It was kind of a slow day to be honest,” Hintz said.
Their guide, Tyler Elshaug, decided to try a different area after scouting with forward-facing sonar. After drilling several holes and spotting fish on his electronics, he moved the portable shelters to a nearby spot known for producing bigger perch.
The move quickly paid off.
Fishing with a Northland Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon tipped with a minnow head, Hintz dropped his lure to a large mark he saw on the flasher. The fish struck immediately but came unhooked. When he lowered the lure again, it hit a second time.
“I thought it was a pike at first,” Hintz said. “My brother had just lost one and I figured it was another one.”
The fish made several strong runs under the ice, tangling with a transducer and another line inside the ice shelter before finally coming up the hole.
When the anglers saw the fish, they realized it was not a pike but a giant yellow perch.
“Our jaws just dropped,” Hintz said.
Elshaug measured the fish at 16.5 inches and the group quickly headed to Woodland Resort to weigh it on a certified scale. The perch weighed 2.99 pounds, which would round up to three pounds under North Dakota Game and Fish Department rules.
The current North Dakota record yellow perch is 2 pounds, 15 ounces, caught from Devils Lake in 1982. If Hintz’s catch is approved after the agency’s routine four-week review process, it would surpass the 44-year-old record.
For anglers familiar with Devils Lake, the catch is not entirely surprising. The large natural lake is widely known as one of the country’s premier destinations for jumbo yellow perch.
“With all the freshwater shrimp in the lake, the perch grow fast and fat,” Elshaug said.
Winter is also the prime season for targeting them. Ice fishing draws anglers from across the Midwest each year, and guide services stay busy throughout the cold months.
“I’ve only had three days off since Christmas,” Elshaug said. “We’re busier in the winter than we are during open water.”
Hintz has been ice fishing for more than 50 years and travels regularly in search of big perch. He and his friends make an annual trip to Devils Lake specifically for the chance to catch fish of this size.
“We target big perch,” he said. “We just don’t have perch this size where we fish.”
While the catch still awaits official confirmation, Hintz already knows one thing for sure. The fish will be mounted and displayed at home.
“My wife will probably have to move one of her paintings,” he said. “But I don’t think she’ll mind.”
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