Mr. Hollandsworth caught the 15.44-inch, 1.20-pound fish at Summersville Lake in Nicholas County on May 9, 2010, using a live minnow for bait. His catch establishes a new West Virginia record for length.

The previous length record for yellow perch was 15.25 inches caught by Joshua Carr from a private pond in Upshur County in 2008. The weight record for yellow perch of 1.83 pounds still stands and was caught by Charles Mayle from Tygart Lake in 1985.

Fish Kill Investigation on Stonewall Jackson Lake

ROANOKE, W.Va. – The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is investigating a fish kill on Stonewall Jackson Lake, according to Bret Preston, Assistant Chief of the Wildlife Resources Section.

“Our district fisheries staff received a report of a fish kill from the Jacksonville area of Stonewall Jackson Lake on the morning of May 24 and began an investigation in coordination with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection,” said Preston.

The majority of dead fish were identified as crappie. Fish samples have been taken for health assessments by the United States Geological Survey’s Leetown Science Center and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Fish Health Center. The cause of the fish kill is unknown and Preston hopes that water quality and fish health analyses will provide clues to the origin of the kill.

News Source: West Virginia DNR - Jun. 03, 2010