Yellow Perch
Perca flavescens
- Length:6 to 10 inches
- Weight:6 to 16 ounces
- Coloring: bright green to olive to golden brown on back; yellow-green, yellow on sides; grey to milk-white below
- Common Names: perch, lake perch, American perch
- Found in Lakes: Michigan, Huron, Ontario, Erie and Superior
They feed in the morning and
evening, rest on the bottom at night and continue feeding year-round -- to the
gratification of ice fishermen. Perch are not scrappy adversaries like trout, but these
full-bodied, large-finned panfish are a favorite and relatively easy target for breakwater
anglers. Perch are especially esteemed for their "inner qualities" -- a flesh
that is white, flakey and delicious. These native fish have also been a mainstay of the lower Great Lakes commercial fishery, particularly on Lake Erie, where 11.3 million pounds of perch were landed in Ohio waters alone in 1981 But they have never figured highly in Lake Superior's commercial catch. In Lake Michigan, the perch catch averaged a respectable 2.4 million pounds a year from the time the first records were kept in 1889 through 1970.
But Lake Michigan's yellow perch numbers appear to have decreased 80 percent since 1990. The states surrounding the lake have put new regulations on yellow perch fishing. Wisconsin banned commercial fishing for yellow perch in Lake Michigan and cut the daily bag limit to five, beginning Jan. 1, 1997.
Sea Grant-sponsored field research last summer found that the populations of yellow perch in Lake Michigan have risen slightly, but the popular fish remains relatively scarce. See our news release and fact sheet for the latest information.
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copyright University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
Brook Trout illustration copyright 1998 Gina Mikel
Yellow perch photograph (c) Shedd
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Drawing from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Last updated 05 February 2002 by Seaman