Perch Fishing: The Forgotten Fish

Perch fishing seems to have fallen out of fashion
for some reason. At one time, yellow perch were the
fish everyone grew up on. They were common. Easy to
catch. Exotic looking, compared, say, to bluegill.
And good on the table.

You just don’t hear much about it, anymore, as fishermen
pursue other species. But perch still have those attributes,
and are well worth targeting.

I wouldn’t swear to it. But I wouldn’t be surprised if my first fish was a yellow perch.

All but unknown in the south, perch fishing is very common in the northern tier of states, and in Canada. Many of us grow up on them, as it were.

That’s certainly true of my own kids. We were living on a small lake, at the time that was filled with perch. Big perch at that. Whereas the average yellow perch runs about eight inches, and weighs a quarter pound, the perch in that lake typically ran 11 inches and three quarters of a pound or more. Larger ones, in the 12 and 13 inch range were not uncommon. A 13 inch perch weighs an honest pound in anybody’s water.

For the ten years we lived on that lake we had a ball perch fishing. The perch were fun to catch on either conventional gear or fly tackle, plentiful, and great eating. What’s more, we were among only a handful of fishermen who targeted them. Most others were after bluegill, bass, and catfish.

I never could understand why we were in the minority. At one time perch were the most popular panfish in America---even with them being virtually unknown in the south. There even had been a commercial fishery on Lake Michigan, at one time, and the Lake Michigan Jumbo Perch were known worldwide. Those fish averaged about 15 inches. Unfortunately, the jumbos all but disappeared when the lake was killed by salt-water invaders after completion of the Weyland Canal.

The yellow perch, aka striped perch, coon perch, ringed perch, and jack perch among others, is a pretty thing. Overall presenting a humpbacked, brassy appearance, it’s olivish on the back, blending into golden-yellow sides and a white belly. Six to eight dark bands extend downwards from the back, giving it a striped look.

Fast growing, perch will put on three inches a year for the first three years of their lives. Some lakes, for reasons not understood, produce populations of larger fish, which probably explains the big perch in our lake. Some specific waters have fish even larger, typically running two pounds. Maximum size reached by yellow perch is around four pounds, but fish that size are very rare.

Smallest of the common perches, the yellow perch does not enjoy the fame of its larger cousins, sauger and walleye. Again, this is something I’ve never understood. Writers and outdoor editors ignore perch fishing, or, as in one case I know of, dismiss these fish out of hand as not worth bothering with. This from the same man who’d run at least one bluegill article in every issue of his magazine. Go figure.

They may be smaller than their headline-hogging cousins, and less well known. But catching them is usually much easier, too.

Perch fishing is not an exercise in seeking out individual fish. Yellow perch travel in schools, and when you catch one there are sure to be others around. The schools seem to be comprised of year-class fish. While that’s not 100% true, it’s a good clue to what you may expect. If the first few fish are in the eight inch range, you can almost count on all of them falling in that size. But, by the same token, if you’re in to 10 or 12 inchers when perch fishing, it’s likely you’ll take a stringer of those larger ones.

Perch each pretty much anything they can get their mouths around, which makes bait choices when perch fishing rather easy. The larger ones are more likely to hit minnows, but just as readily eat other live foods such as earthworms and crayfish. But day-in and day-out, small minnows do the job---which explains why perch often hit baits intended for crappie. The rigs are the same: a minnow or two suspended under a bobber.

Minnow-like artificials are often good choices when perch fishing. Small spinners, for instance, or small crankbaits can be just the ticket. Flyfishermen, armed with small streamers, get all the action they could ask for.

When on the feed, perch are not particularly selective. I remember being out on Lake Erie, once, with a charter captain. Lake Erie, as a fishing destination, has a lot going for it, incidentally, particularly the Western Basin. Walleye and smallmouth bass are the primary targets there. But the fact is, you can take limits of four or five different fish for the table, even if you release every bass. When you’re done with the walleye, you can switch to, say, catfish. Or, to put a point on it, perch.

“Watch this,” the captain said with a grin. We had limited out on mooneyes, and the bass weren’t on the bite. Positioning the boat near a rip-rap jetty, he picked up a light spinning outfit. There was a sinker tied to the end of the line, with several hooks spaced above it. To each hook he attached a small ribbon of cloth, alternating yellow and white strips.

“Cast towards the rocks,” he instructed. “Let the weight settle below us, and jig the pole up and down.”

Suiting action to word, I did just that. In just a few moments there was a tug on the line. Before I could start reeling there was a second tug. And possibly others---it’s hard to tell just what you’re feeling when there are two fish on the line. Turns out there were three, on that cast. Every cast produced two or three fish. And one time there were four.

Apparently, the cloth ribbons were being mistaken for baitfish as they moved up and down in the water. And the perch went wild.

Granted, the perch fishing action isn’t always that fast. But when perch are hitting, they hit well, and you’re all but guaranteed a stringer of good-eating fish.