CATCH MORE PERCH

While the largemouth bass is hands down the favorite fish in the nation, if you needed to choose a fish to slip in at a close 2nd, it would be the yellow perch.

These plentiful, ravenous, and delightful little fish are present in over 25 of the 50 states as well as nearly every Canadian province in North America, offering exceptional fishing across their range.

Traveling in big, focused schools, capturing a full stringer of perch has been a delight experienced by both novice and veteran anglers alike since we first determined how to drop a baited hook into the water.

Unlike bass, which are typically pursued for their battling capability where they are released to be captured again, many perch fishermen hunt the banks of the lakes, ponds, and little rivers that perch inhabit, wanting to bring home a mess of the small yellow and black striped fish for the table.

A close cousin of the walleye, perch have a light yet hearty flesh that is on par with their bigger loved ones and are thought about to be some of the best-eating fish in freshwater.

Nevertheless, in order to fill a plate up with fried perch, you have to capture them. While getting a few perch in the container can be a fairly basic procedure, if you want to capture a lot of perch consistently, you have actually learnt more about how to discover and fish for them no matter where they’re hiding.

How to Find Perch

Perch live in a range of different water bodies and move around to different depths and structure functions throughout the year.

However, as formerly discussed, perch generally hang around in big schools so as soon as you find one, there sure to be others nearby.

So, the key to finding and capturing them regularly is understanding where the fish will be gathered throughout the year.

In spring, perch start accumulating in the shallows as quickly as the water temperature levels reach 45 to 50 degrees in preparation for the spawn.

Discovering these fish is a relatively easy procedure, either from a boat or from shore.

Start by scanning the water with your electronics, focusing your efforts on depths from 3 to 8 feet of water, and searching for that wonderful temperature level window.

Throughout summer season, perch can be a bit more challenging.

The increased water temperatures and intense sunlight indicate that the fish are more active in the early mornings or late nights, giving you a narrow window of peak fishing time.

Like crappie, bluegill, and other panfish, perch will begin to move into deeper waters carefully adjacent to their spring haunts.

Start hunting for summer season perch by playing the close drop-offs to their spring spawning areas in depths from 10 to 25 feet.

Electronics will help you find and target any large perch schools in the area, however you can also find success by fishing a variety of different depths up until you begin to hook them regularly.

Fall brings with it another shift in perch positioning.

As the water temperatures begin to drop, perch will return into shallower water, from 8 to 12 feet, specifically concentrating in locations with tough clay or rock bottoms near weed beds with softer mucky bottoms.

Here enormous schools of perch will gather and feed upon schools of baitfish, small invertebrates like crayfish, and insect nymphs.

 

Sources: themeateater