Jason Deroy, of Clear Lake, SD, was underwater spearing when he set a new bluegill record on Pickerel Lake in northeastern South Dakota on July 6, 2024. This fish breaks the “unrestricted” bluegill record, meaning it was taken by any legal method other than hook and line. The image of the fish can be found on GFP’s Facebook page.
This is the third “unrestricted” panfish record broken this year, as Hunter Cole broke the rock bass record twice in June while spearing on Pactola Reservoir.
Deroy’s fish was tagged in a GFP study in June of 2020 and was 6.7 inches long. At the time of harvest, the fish was 10.5 inches and had an 11.5 inch girth.
For a fish to qualify as a state record, anglers must have the fish identified by a state fisheries biologist and weighed on a certified scale. To learn more about the specific qualifications or to view a list of all South Dakota’s state record fish, visit: www.gfp.sd.gov/fish/.
