Yellow Perch Info?

[parsonsles87]

i was at powersite last year throwing a cast net trying to get some shad and to my surprise i got back about ten small yellow perch . does anyone target these fish? do they have any size to them? all the ones i netted were only 4 or 5 inches long.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I'm sure there have been some decent ones caught, but they don't seem to be widespread. I suspect they tend to shadow the same environment as walleyes and success in walleye fishing seems to dictate that you target them.

If you want to target them from the bank try the Barker hole.

[bfishn]

Since they've only been widely available in Bull for the last decade or so, records have fallen repeatedly. The last I knew of was 1lb 11oz in both states. Neither state stocked them, but obviously someone did.

They're every bit as good eating as walleye (just ask any walleye). :-)

My Yankee fishing buddy says catching them intentionally ("perch jerkin' ") means fishing in the weeds. That technique obviously won't do you much good on Bull...

[Ham]

No regs at all since they're not supposed to be there. I've heard fish tales on ppl catching them from one end of the lake to the other. I've caught a few in the lake and I even caught one in the White River itself below BSL.

The trick is catching them big enough to fool with cleaning.

[parsonsles87]

i wouldnt mind trying them on a skillet. i will have to try for them next time im at forsyth. i watched a show about them this mornin and it made me wanna catch a few.

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

I caught one about a year ago in lake Lotawana up by KC it was about a pound so I ate it and it was some if the whitest, best fish I have ever had

[james]

I got into a bunch of them in the back of hogan creek a couple of years ago,good size to,bout this time of year.

[vonreed]

I posted about these last year in hopes of finding someone who had good info on them. I caught a little over 20 of them in one location last year while fishing for bluegills. I've been watching this year in hopes that they return. I believe the higher the water, the better for the yellow perch. As was said on an above post, they like weeds. When I was catching them they were in weeds and preferred those type of spots. After the water level started back down I couldn't find any. I also found that they liked feeding on the bottom mostly instead of with using bobbers. They are the best eating fish I've ever had. They are flaky like a walleye. I used worms for catching them, but small minnows might work as well, I'm not sure. I sure hope they show up again this year, because if they do I will be leaving the white bass alone, lol. Oh and I also keep the little tiny ones to, lol.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I remember you posting on that last year Vonreed. When I was boating, and that was years ago, we would pick one up occasionally in Barker. It's hard to say what the level will be this year, as usual, and they should start a lottery picking the average level of BS in a given period.

[Ham]

Vonreed's 20 is about 4 times my lifetime total on BSL. So with a grain of salt, I agree they tend to feed on bottom. I would imagine any natural bait like worms, minnows, crawfish, maggies would be readily bitten by YP.

I think they are fairly aggressive little guys, but seem to be widely scattered through out the lake. The best intell seems to be on y'alls end of the lake, but I talked to a diver that claims to have seen LARGE schools of them in Sister Creek and I know of them coming Theodosia area and Oakland and Big Creek and Sugarloaf and and and.

I'd to bet a dollar that I could catch one on any given day though.