CHAPTER 20

The Perch Family

In This Chapter

What fish belong to the perch family

What the habits of yellow perch, walleyes, and sauger are

What techniques to use for catching yellow perch, walleyes, and sauger

In this chapter, you’ll learn about the three most important members of the perch family. You’ll learn the seasonal patterns of these fish, the best times to fish for them, and the most common techniques anglers use when fishing for each species

The perch family is a large one, second only to the catfish family in numbers of member species. Most members of the perch family, though, are darters and measure only a couple of inches. As far as freshwater anglers are concerned, the three important game fish belonging to the perch family are the yellow perch, walleye, and sauger. These three species are cool-water fish with longer bodies than species in the sunfish family, and they are schooling fish that do not protect eggs and fry after the spawn.

Yellow perch are the most widely distributed of the three species and walleyes are the biggest. The sauger is the walleye’s little cousin, and all three game fish are highly valued for their eating quality.

Yellow Perch

Yellow perch, Perca flavescens, rank high on the freshwater angler’s list because of the fish’s abundance, wide distribution, ease of catching, year-round availability, and fine table fare. Yellow perch are colorful fish sporting dark green tops, orange-colored pectoral fins, and yellow or gold sides with a series of green vertical bars. Perch do not have the sharp teeth characteristic of walleyes and sauger.

For the most part, yellow perch can be found across the northern half of the United States and southern Canada, although stockings have introduced perch elsewhere. A cool-water species, perch like clear rivers, lakes, and reservoirs with some vegetation and a firm bottom of sand, gravel, and rock. Still, perch do well in weedy, soft-bottom waters, too. The species spawns in tributaries and shallows when water temperatures creep into the 40s. Ideal spawning sites include scattered weeds and brush over a firm bottom. Gelatinous strings of eggs are deposited on the weeds and brush, but adults do not protect the eggs or fry.

Yellow perch travel in schools of generally the same size fish, and the schools roam in search of food such as fish eggs, insects, minnows, snails, crayfish, and small fish. Sport-caught perch average 7 to 8 inches and ½ pound, although some waters have stunted populations. Perch measuring 12 inches or more, sometimes called jack perch or jumbos, are especially prized by anglers.

Daily and Seasonal Habits

In the morning, yellow perch gather in schools for feeding purposes. In addition to morning feeding, perch also feed throughout the day and into evening. Unlike crappies, perch don’t see well in low-light conditions, so the fish scatter to cover with the approach of sunset where they remain until the sun rises. When feeding or seeking cover, yellow perch tend to move shallower to weed lines, weed openings, moderately vegetated flats, and vegetated shoals.

Prior to spring spawning, yellow perch congregate in bays and at tributary mouths near spawning grounds. During the spawn, the fish move into the shallows at night and retreat to deeper water in the morning. Once spawning is completed, perch remain in the general area where their favorite hangouts include weed edges, drop-offs, and shoals in large bays as well as areas of quiet water in tributaries and at tributary mouths. Throughout spring, yellow perch feed actively.

Yellow perch remain in their spring locations into early summer when warm water temperatures drive this cool-water species to deeper water. Although some fish hold deeper, most perch occupy depths of 15 to 30 feet during the summer months. Favorite locations include mainland points, island points, shoals, deep-water flats, and drop-offs, all of which must have vegetation to attract perch. Other prime summer haunts include weed lines and openings in weed beds.

As water temperatures begin to cool in early fall, perch move to shoreline structures such as drop-offs and weed lines, to large bays with breaklines, mid-depth flats, and holes, and to tributary mouths with quiet water areas. Perch roam these locations in search of baitfish and small fish that abandon the shallows as water temperatures drop and vegetation begins to die off. Perch remain in these areas into late fall and through winter, although midwinter sees large perch move to adjacent deep water prior to their return to spawning locations.

Fishing Techniques and Best Fishing Times

Yellow perch are easy to catch because they are not finicky eaters and their roaming and schooling tendencies force them to compete for food. Once you locate a school of perch, you can expect good action until the school moves off. To locate yellow perch, shore anglers must move from spot to spot, and boat anglers have the luxury of drifting through an area until fish are found.

Anglers pretty much use two basic techniques when targeting yellow perch. Number one is the use of live baits such as small minnows and crawler pieces. Whether the bait is suspended below a bobber or bottom-fished with a weight, the key is to get the offering a foot or two above bottom since yellow perch are a near-bottom-dwelling species. Also, be sure to use small hooks (#8 or #6) and baits because perch have fairly small mouths.

The second technique is casting small jigs tipped with tiny minnows, crawler pieces, grubs, or plastics. For shallow-water fishing, the jig may be suspended below a bobber. Again, be sure to get the jig within a foot or two of bottom.

You can catch perch year-round, but spring offers the best fishing because yellow perch congregate in large numbers in near-shore areas where the fish feed aggressively for a three-month period. Spring is the time when perch are most available to shore and dock anglers. While summer-caught perch tend to run on the small side, spring and fall are the best times for jumbos. Because yellow perch don’t see well in low light, they prefer to feed during bright conditions. This means perch may feed throughout the day, although the best fishing often occurs in mid-morning and early evening. (See discussion of ice fishing yellow perch in Chapter 17.)

Walleyes

Walleyes, Stizostedion vitreum, are the largest member of the perch family, and the fish earned its name because of its large, glassy eyes. Other walleye features include light green sides with gold specks, a light-colored belly, forked tail, spiny dorsal fin, white tip on lower tail, and sharp teeth. Walleyes were originally found in the northern states and Canada, but stocking has resulted in the fish’s presence throughout much of the United States and Canada. The walleye is an especially popular game fish in southern Canada, the Great Lakes region, and the Midwest.

Bad Cast

Walleyes are called walleyed pike in some areas and pickerel in other areas. These names are misnomers, though, as walleyes are members of the perch family and not the pike family.

Sometimes called marble eyes, walleyes do well in large lakes with some turbidity, in rivers with a moderate current, and in reservoirs with a number of tributaries. The fish spawn in shallow water over gravel and rocks in tributaries, along shorelines, and on shoals. Spawning takes place where current or wave action facilitates egg development. Water conditions at the time of the spawn dictate the success of the spawn and the number of walleyes in a particular year-class. A highly successful spawn can result in several years of excellent fishing once those fish reach legal size.

Walleyes are more adaptable in their choice of prey than are most other species, and walleyes have a roaming nature that allows them to find various prey. Baitfish and small fish, especially yellow perch, are the species’ primary food, though walleyes also feed on leeches, crayfish, snails, and aquatic insects. The average walleye weighs a couple of pounds; a 7-pounder is a really nice fish, and one over 10 pounds approaches trophy status. The walleye is something of an event species since opening-day derbies, community festivals, professional derbies, amateur derbies, ice fishing derbies, and fish dinners center on this fish. (See discussion of ice fishing walleyes in Chapter 15.)

Best Fishing Times

Because of the nature of the walleye’s eyes, the fish sees well in changing-light and low-light conditions, times when their favorite prey, the yellow perch, does not see well. Throughout the year, walleye fishing is best in the low-light periods of early morning, evening, darkness, windy days, and days with cloud cover and in the changing light periods of sunrise and sunset. In clear water and when conditions are calm and bright, walleyes stop feeding earlier in the morning and begin feeding later in the evening. In low-clarity water, walleyes have longer feeding windows. When weather conditions are stable, feeding patterns remain the same from day to day. During cold fronts and strong thunderstorms, the fishing drops off as walleyes move deeper and may not feed for several days.

Spring is by far the best season for walleye action because large numbers of fish congregate near spawning sites, many of which are near shore and accessible to shore anglers. Good fishing spots include tributaries, gravelly shorelines, shoreline points, drop-offs, and flats. In rivers, look for walleyes to hold in slack water areas near spawning sites. Young males remain near spawning areas longer than mature fish.

Walleyes can be caught throughout the summer, but the schools of spring will have dispersed throughout a water system. Instead of finding schools of fish, anglers are more likely to encounter small groups of walleyes. When looking for summer walleyes, focus on two things: structure and food. Walleyes hold in deep water near rocky points, rocky shorelines, rocky bottoms, holes, tributary mouths, shoals, and current breaks. During low-light periods, walleyes move shallow to the adjacent structure to feed. If there is adequate prey in the area, walleyes remain in the vicinity. Otherwise, the fish roam to better feeding grounds.

Real Fishing

My home fishing water has a three-fish daily limit for walleyes, and the minimum length is 18 inches. In the fall, I like to take some walleyes and freeze them for eating during the winter months. When doing so, I self-impose a maximum limit of 24 inches because smaller fish are better eating, and I like to release larger fish so they have the opportunity to spawn in the spring.

As the water cools and the angle of the sun lowers in fall, walleyes again move shallow. The fish also congregate in schools so anglers who locate fish can have some of the best fishing of the year, especially for larger fish. Prime locations include drop-offs, weed lines, holes, slack water areas, and tributary mouths, where baitfish and small fish move as water temperatures cool. Good fishing typically holds up until water temperatures drop through the 40s, at which time the fish move to deep water. Even though their metabolism slows, walleyes feed throughout the winter on structural edges near deep water and in areas with concentrations of yellow perch.

Fishing Techniques

Popular walleye offerings include live bait, jigs, plugs, crawler harnesses, and blade baits; live bait ranks as the overall favorite. Effective live baits include crawlers, minnows, and leeches. Jigs are the top-producing artificial lure and the most versatile. Plugs work well because they imitate small fish, a primary prey of walleyes. Crawler harnesses offer a combination of flash and bait, and blade baits present both flash and vibration.

Live bait may be still fished in a location or drifted through an area. Some anglers use a weight on the bottom and a baited hook above; others use a baited hook at line’s end with split shot above. Using slip sinkers is another option as is suspending the bait below a float. No matter what system you use, be sure to get the bait near bottom.

Anglers usually cast and retrieve jigs, but jigs can also be fished vertically when employing a controlled drift through an area. When drifters encounter a group of walleyes, it’s time to set up near the fish and do some casting. The jig’s versatility stems from its various styles, weights, colors, tipping options, and angler-imparted actions. Jigs with bucktail or plastic bodies take plenty of walleyes, but for the best results, try enhancing the jig with a crawler piece, small minnow, or leech.

Bad Cast

Because walleyes often hang around rocky structure, it’s common to get bottom rigs, jigs, and crawler harnesses snagged. Instead of getting frustrated with such hang-ups, just accept them as part of fishing for walleyes. As your fishing skills improve, you will develop a better feel for what’s happening at line’s end, and you will encounter fewer snags.

Plugs may be cast or trolled. Casting is popular in spring and fall, and at night when walleyes patrol the shallows. Otherwise, anglers troll plugs. When trolling, the key is to get the plug near bottom, something that can be easily accomplished by the use of big-lipped crankbaits, in-line weights, downriggers, or diving planers.

Crawler harnesses may be trolled in the same fashion that plugs are. The rigs may also be drifted through an area when wind and current conditions are favorable. When presenting crawler harnesses, the keys include maintaining a proper speed for the blade(s) to turn, getting the rig near bottom, and hooking the crawler so it is fully extended.

Anglers fish blade baits similarly to jigs, except blade baits are used more often for vertical presentations rather than cast-and-retrieve ones. Also, anglers don’t ordinarily tip blade baits with bait. Blade baits are most often used when fishing for deep-water walleyes.

Here are some walleye tips:

A slow presentation seems to work better than a fast one.

Using a stinger hook on jigs will likely double your catch.

Use your electronics to locate fish; then set up in that area.

Walleyes are light biters, so set the hook when you feel anything different at line’s end.

Light lines and fast-action rods are best for detecting bites.

Most of the time, walleyes hit a jig as it falls rather than when it rises.

For best results, troll into the wind or current rather than with it.

Use natural colors in clear water, brighter colors in stained water, and dark colors at night.

Use a quiet approach because too much boat activity can shut down a school of fish.

Saugers

Sauger, Stizostedion canadense, look very similar to walleye, but a sauger can be identified by the black spots on its dorsal fin and the lack of a white spot on the base of the tail and the anal fin. In some areas, the sauger is referred to as a sand pike, but the sauger is a member of the perch family, not the pike family. The sauger’s range extends from southern Canada through the Great Lakes and the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee rivers.

Fishing Vocab

A saugeye is a hybrid created by the breeding between a sauger and a walleye.

Saugers do best in large rivers and lakes that have cool-water temperatures and firm bottoms of gravel and rock. Saugers and walleyes are similar also in that they live in the same waters and habitats. Still, the walleye is the more popular fish because of its size as an average-size walleye is bigger than a large sauger.

Saugers are pretty much identical to walleyes in seasonal behaviors, so the strategies for locating and catching walleyes also work for taking saugers. Generally, though, saugers hold in a bit deeper water because their eyes are more sensitive to light. Also, on some waters saugers migrate in large numbers in late fall and early winter to the waters below large dams. In such cases, the sauger fishing is at its best of the year.