Thread: White perch

almost impossible to cast net them to any degree of making it worthwhile. There is one spot on Harris Lake that you can catch a few hundred per throw but it is seasonal thing and does not last long. That spot is the reason the rules changed. Anywhere else it is pretty impractical.

White Perch are an invasive species yet protected as a game fish in Inland waters

Makes no sense at all, that's where the change to the regs should have been made.

I could make a lot of money selling the White Perch on Harris Lake if it were legal to do so and it would definitely impact the population.

I hear all the time that they are the best eating fish in the area from folks that take them home.

There is one spot on Harris Lake that you can catch a few hundred per throw but it is seasonal thing and does not last long

Hmm.. Do I only get one guess? Merry Oaks cove, late September. There are a couple of coves further up on the main fork where I have seen blitzes that could be netted, but they are harder to predict.

I think the rule change just illustrates their frustration. They made a really bad mistake. I don't think they have done it (stock them) recently, but biding their time waiting for them to disappear isn't working. What's weird is that they didn't do well naturally this far up the rivers. For eons there was nothing but a few rapids in their way and they did not truly establish themselves very far inland. But put up a dam and put them behind it and it is a different story.

I do agree they are very tasty. I ended up catching more perch than crappie today and just finished putting some fillets in the fridge. I will say the perch were rather large today. I caught one that 1-1/2 pounds and a bunch more around 1 pound. It's fun when you troll over an area and 4 rods bend over all once.

I will be out in the kayak next weekend testing my new fish finder looking for bait balls to try jigging a blade deep (someone I know has been cleaning up the last few weeks doing that). If that goes well, I suspect a large number of hookups to be perch. I would whine a lot less about them if I could consistently catch pounders. Nice work!

Originally Posted by SeaRay

I am sure most of you know that the SC DNR delisted them as a game fish and now have no limits on them. They are in most all our lakes and I have targeted them in the winter when they ball up under the bait balls. Can catch a ton of them at times bouncing a spoon on the bottom. I agree that when they are skinned and filleted they are as tasty as any other pan fish. Their closest relative is the Striped Bass, they are not actually a perch.

Yeah, they're Morones. To me they taste exactly like a White Bass.

Originally Posted by hockey86

What are you guys doing with the white perch you catch at Jordan and Harris? I've been told numerous times to never throw them back because there are so many. I typically keep the bigger ones because they are good to eat plus I keep a few small ones to use for catfish bait. People probably thought I was keeping a bunch of under-sized crappie this weekend but they were all white perch. Have any of the wildlife studies shown a high population? Just curious.

Hi Hockey86,
Banjo Mo and I spoke to you late Sunday afternoon. We kept 14 crappie and 14 white perch all nice fish. Banjo thinks he doesn't like white perch so I kept the perch and gave him the crappie. I ended up with a gallon bag of filets from the 14 fish. we ate half of them last night and they were as good as any fried fish I've ever eaten. I kill the real small ones and throw them back in the water and eat the larger ones. They remind of salt water whiting. Easy to clean, not a lot of waste and taste great.

I kill the real small ones and throw them back in the water

Are you sure that is legal? I am not questioning whether or not it makes sense; I actually think it does as long as they aren't washing up all over the place. Plenty of catfish and turtles appreciate it. But it might be a ticketable offense. I am kind of torn about what to do with the little ones.

It was good to talk to you guys too. I ended up catching a few decent crappie right at dark. You can send Banjo some crappie fillets and have him send you striper fillets from Tennessee.

Not sure about the legal thing or not but as soon as they hit the water the Herons are right there to snatch them up. Usually they are flying to the boat before you even get them off the hook. I've filleted some pretty small ones and still get decent meat from them.