Maryville angler breaks state record
MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION
Halley holds his state record yellow perch Jan. 24 after weighing it on the state-certified scales at the Maryville Hy-Vee.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — Tye Halley, 16, received a special Valentine’s Day gift from the Missouri Department of Conservation, Feb. 14, a plaque recognizing his catch of a state-record yellow perch.
Tory Mason, MDC Fisheries management biologist, congratulated him on Friday at Maryville High School, where Halley, a sophomore, attends school. While the plaque wasn’t quite ready, Mason did present Halley with a facsimile of it on Friday.
When asked where he caught the fish, Halley responded with a smile, “in the mouth.”
On a cold, blustery Jan. 24, then 15-year-old Halley went fishing with his uncle T.J. Allen at a Nodaway County private pond, and ended up drenched after plunging into the water to hold onto the 1-pound, 14-ounce yellow perch he caught with a line and pole.
“I literally dove into the water and gave the fish a bear hug so it wouldn’t get away,” Halley said in an MDC news release. “It was freezing! I had to go sit in the truck to warm up after that.”
Halley’s mother, Jenni, said he called and said they were bringing the fish to the Maryville Hy-Vee.
“I just thought he meant they were going to just show me,” said Jenni Halley.
She said customers watched as the weight was certified by a Hy-Vee butcher and a state conservation agent. Mason said only one conservation member needs to verify the species.
“He was cold. He was shaking when he came in,” said Jenni Halley. “I asked ‘Are you cold?’ and he said ‘I’m excited, I don’t know why I’m shaking.’”
Halley said it was worth it to hold a state record. The previous state record yellow perch was a 1-pound 11-ounce fish caught in 2009.
Mason said Missouri doesn’t have a prevalence of yellow perch because the waters tend to be too warm.
“The only other place is Bull Shoals,” said Mason. “There’s a population of them, just because the water’s cold. They’re a cold-water fish and Bull Shoals has a layer of cold water. They kind of reproduce. We have a viable public population.”
Mason said there is a threshold size for each species of fish an angler catches that will designate them a Master Angler.
“Even though it’s not a state record, if someone catches a worthy fish, they can get recognition.”
The minimum for yellow perch is one pound, Halley’s fish nearly doubled it.
Now an MDC certified Master Angler, Halley said he doesn’t get to fish every weekend, but he tries to enjoy it as much as possible.
“When I get to, I make the most of if,” Halley said.
Halley said they were able to keep the fish alive in an aerated cooler for quite some time.
“We kept it alive and took it up to a guy in Blockton who’s going to make a replica,” said Allen.
Jimmy Lawrence, of Lawrence Taxidermy, in Blockton, Iowa, already had a mold of the same size and type fish, so he took photos of the different markings underneath, and on the fin.
“He’s the best,” said Mason.
Eventually, Halley delivered the still living fish to another private pond in Nodaway County, again smiling and politely refusing to share the location.
When asked if he intended to go back out and try to beat his record, Halley said, “I’ll attempt it.”
SKYE POURNAZARI/THE FORUM
Tye Halley, center, holds a photo of the plaque he will receive from the Missouri Department of Conservation, recognizing his catch of a state record 1-pound, 14-ounce yellow perch on Jan. 24. Tory Mason, MDC Fisheries management biologist, congratulated him on Friday at Maryville High School. Halley said he was fishing with his uncle T.J. Allen, right, when he had to go into the water to catch the fish.
