White perch - as bad as they say they are in different states?

I live in the white perch capital of the world. People have fished for white perch here like others fish for crappie or walleye in other areas of the country. White perch fishing here was popular before anyone started fishing for largemouth bass as a target species.

They are delicious. They rank right up there with crappie and yellow perch. When they are hitting, you can catch them by the cooler full.

Luckily, the perch migrate to a different part of the sound at the time that crappie spawn so they don't seem to be an issue to the crappie population here. They also don't seem to be a problem in tributaries where there is a good yellow perch population.

Folks catch them in three ways mostly here. long line trolling beetle spins tipped with a small piece of shrimp, using standard bottom rigs with shrimp, or using sabiki rigs which have been killer the last several years and can catch 4 or 5 at a time. They fight twice as hard as a crappie as they are first cousin to a white bass and a striped bass. They have white sides like a white bass with only one lateral line.CF

I caught a lot of white perch last night at a local, small lake. They were hitting like mad a couple hours before sunset, the little savages. Worm under a bobber drove them nuts. They were all really tiny, maybe 5" or so. I fished till I loaded my stringer full. White Perch must be either killed or kept here as they are a Nuisance Species, so I started putting them on the stringer.

I put them in a cooler with ice last night when I got home as it was too late to start cleaning them. You guys think they're still alright to clean? There's still ice in the cooler this morning. The fillets are going to be about the size of a quarter or $.50 piece, LOL!!

Hey Yak what lake were you fishing? I have heard El Dorado Lake is full of them but luckily they haven't been reported in Winfield Lake...yet.

Forgot to say, sorry. Lake Afton.

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Originally Posted by coyote419

Heck, I always thought white perch was another name for Crappie (white crappie specifically). No?

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It is if you go to the louisiana board. Common name in north and central louisiana

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Originally Posted by Charles Ray

It is if you go to the louisiana board. Common name in north and central louisiana

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Yep and called sac-a-lait in South Louisiana.

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Brest Bay in Monroe, Mi is full of these. I've heard them called silver bass and/or white bass. Belleville Lake, MI is also being overrun. I've heard the Detroit River runs these that really get large but not many want to eat them. MI DNR rules used to say they had a limit of 25. They travel in schools. In Brest bay we find some structure in 18 FOW drop anchor and wait for the schools to come through. 10 - 12 inchers will make a decent fillet. I skin them out. Sometimes they are oily if that happens I brine them and smoke them like jerky. Also work good for dog chews. I'm going to find out if DNR has lifted the limit.

Attachment 138034 One from yesterdayAttachment 138035

Now that's a white perch worth filleting!! Around here we're lucky to catch them 10" or less.