Info about Mentor PerchFest entry fees, rules and payout should be available by mid-summer

A revival of a once-popular Central Basin yellow perch fishing event is slated for August 27th through 29th.

After a nine year absence, the PerchFest perch-fishing derby is back in the game. This time the heralded fishing derby is being sponsored by the city of Mentor and not the Lake County Visitors Bureau.

It will be held at the city’s Mentor Lagoons Marina area, located at 8365 Harbor Drive, just off Lakeshore Blvd. (Route 283). Co-hosts include the Lake County Visitors Bureau and the adjacent Mentor Lagoons Yacht Club.

The derby is expected to again feature perch fishing divisions for adults along with youths.

Full details regarding entry fees, age divisions, payout and the like have not yet been established, however, says Nita Justice, the city of Mentor’s Recreation Superintendent.

“We really wanted to get the word out about the event so people could plan ahead and set aside the dates,” Justice said.

“We’re working with the yacht club members on all of the contest rules and other details, and I expect we’ll have something out there by mid-summer.”

As was the case with previous PerchFests – which were held at Lake Metroparks’ Fairport Harbor Beach and only a few miles east of the Mentor Lagoons – the new Mentor-driven affair will include various other activities besides the fishing.

Among them will be games for children, entertainment, food and craft vendors. Instructional clinics will also share the spotlight with the topics being fly tying, fish identification, how to clean and fillet fish, and how to locate prime fishing locations.

That last item could prove crucial. The Mentor Lagoons is on the cusp of where the Ohio Division of Wildlife has zoned off the Central Basin’s yellow perch quota management scheme for sport fishing daily bag limit. To the west of the nearby Grand River the daily bag limit is 10 perch but immediately to the east of the Grand River the daily bag limit jumps up to 30 yellow perch.

Such a division help determine where anglers fish and whether they’ll have to live cull their catch as potential derby-qualifying perch are reeled in.

Hours and dates for the revamped PerchFest are 5-11 p.m, August 27th; 11 a.m.-11 p.m., August 28th; and 11 a.m.-5 p.m., August 29th.

For updates and further information, periodically visit the PerchFest web site at mentorperchfest.com, Justice recommends.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com