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

Recently I've been catching more white perch and larger whites than anytime in the last 10 years in my local crappie/bass/pickerel lake. I did some research to find out why all of a sudden this species became so numerous and in sizes ranging from 3.5"-10". What I found was disturbing!

According to different state agencies, white perch can be detrimental to local fish populations - even their own - for the following reasons:

Pirmary food - eggs of all species
Secondary food - fingerlings of all species and shiners that comprise a significant source of multi-specie diets.
Prolific in that females can lay anywhere from 20,000 to 300,000 eggs which are fertilized by many males.

Overpopulation equates to small fish of all species at first and then the destruction of the young of certain species such as walleye and bass, even though small white perch also make up a part of their food source.

In Kansas, the law states that all white perch caught must be kept and disposed of. Other states encourage non-release, though it is expected that most small perch not worth cleaning will go back.

White perch are not real perch but related to white bass and can dilute the white bass gene pool by crossbreeding - another reason to kill them.

I'll be making a presentation to my fishing club to have white perch tournaments to help the fishery, but knowing how little interest bass and pickerel anglers have for catching panfish, I doubt they will see the danger until it is too late. As of this year, yellow perch catches are way down but crappie are still doing well - numbers and size. That could change. I've taken out over 400 small perch in the last two months to feed the bass in my pond, not caring about the spawns of the five species in it. That won't even put a dent in the w.p. population.

They are bad in the eastern half of Pa, from reports I read.

Here in south central PA, especially Lake Marburg, the white perch have become the most abundant fish in the lake.

There are signs all over the lake that say to please keep all white perch that you catch. In the summer, the schools of white perch chase minnows on top. Thousands of them! Super fun to catch with a 3 wt flyrod and a small white streamer. Schools in deep water of millions (about 10' thick and 50 yards wide by 100 yards long!!

Everywhere I go in that lake, trying for crappie or gills, I always catch a bunch of white perch. On the bright side ..... the white perch are great fighters and attack a fly or lure with gusto, and the fillets are a wonderful tasty white firm flakey flesh.

For me ....... I don't mind the white perch at all! I'm kinda glad they populate so fast, it's more fish for me to catch?

Attachment 137392Can one of you post a picture of the white perch and the white bass. I am not very familiar with either. I believe we have some of one of them where I fish but am not sure which it is. This is what I catch from time to time. Right now they start to get very easy to catch with large schools of them coming into the bays and schooling on the surface in the main river channels. I have seen picture of them from our lake that appear to be in the 1 1/2 - 2 pound range but everyone I catch is about the size of the one in my hand in the picture. Is this a white bass or white perch?

Most likely a white bass which has longitudinal bars along its sides.

I am by NO MEANS an expert at all on fish I.D., but that does look more like a white bass to me.

The Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks has some fish I.D. links on their website. Click on the Temperate Bass Family and you'll have something to compare to. ;)

Fish ID Gallery / Fishing / KDWPT - KDWPT


ETA: I tried to catch some white perch my last time out. Reports say they're all over the lakes around here; "fishing is excellent" they say. "Use a piece of worm under a bobber" they say! Haha, I've caught nothing. :( Oh well.

They have nearly wiped out the White Bass in the upper Santee Cooper lakes. SC declassified them as a gamefish a few years back and encourage anglers to keep all they catch. The small one are excellent Striper and Catfish bait, The larger ones are very good to eat if filleted.
The easiest way identify them is the White Perch's dorsal fins are attached and if you pull one up the other comes with it. I don't think this is true in the White Bass and Striper. The WP also has very sharp gill plates and can give you a bad cut if you mishandle one.

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

The white perch, Morone americana, is not a true perch but is, rather, a fish of the temperate bass family, Moronidae.

• White perch have been associated with declines in both walleye and white bass populations.
• White perch feed heavily on baitfish utilized by other species.
• Out-compete native fishes for food and space.
• Hybridize with white bass.

Thanks for the info everyone, and judging by the information given and a little further research on my part, I would have to say that I am catching white bass.

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.

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...utHWfY1Xgj1x2w

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.

That is a nice White Perch. If you get into the bigger ones like that when they are schooled up in winter it is like catching footballs. A Flexit spoon is murder on them when they are on the bottom in 15 to 30 FOW.

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Originally Posted by SeaRay

That is a nice White Perch. If you get into the bigger ones like that when they are schooled up in winter it is like catching footballs. A Flexit spoon is murder on them when they are on the bottom in 15 to 30 FOW.

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Last weekend I used a Fle Fly bendable jig. I put on a single hook. It was lites out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spoonminnow

Recently I've been catching more white perch and larger whites than anytime in the last 10 years in my local crappie/bass/pickerel lake. I did some research to find out why all of a sudden this species became so numerous and in sizes ranging from 3.5"-10". What I found was disturbing!

According to different state agencies, white perch can be detrimental to local fish populations - even their own - for the following reasons:

Pirmary food - eggs of all species
Secondary food - fingerlings of all species and shiners that comprise a significant source of multi-specie diets.
Prolific in that females can lay anywhere from 20,000 to 300,000 eggs which are fertilized by many males.

Overpopulation equates to small fish of all species at first and then the destruction of the young of certain species such as walleye and bass, even though small white perch also make up a part of their food source.

In Kansas, the law states that all white perch caught must be kept and disposed of. Other states encourage non-release, though it is expected that most small perch not worth cleaning will go back.

White perch are not real perch but related to white bass and can dilute the white bass gene pool by crossbreeding - another reason to kill them.

I'll be making a presentation to my fishing club to have white perch tournaments to help the fishery, but knowing how little interest bass and pickerel anglers have for catching panfish, I doubt they will see the danger until it is too late. As of this year, yellow perch catches are way down but crappie are still doing well - numbers and size. That could change. I've taken out over 400 small perch in the last two months to feed the bass in my pond, not caring about the spawns of the five species in it. That won't even put a dent in the w.p. population.

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Good and thoughtful post. That you for sharing this. I keep about 20 panfish (White Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, SHellcracker or Perch) whenever I go fishing. It depends on what is biting that day. When I was in Ohio we would drive to Sandusky when the White Bass ran and four of us could land 200 a day from the shore in about two hours.

Never seen a White Perch here to my knowledge but we have White Bass and those pesky little Yellow Bass.

Caught a few of these monsters yesterday. Too bad I don't eat freshwater fish.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j3...ps763b7591.jpg

i have never experienced white perch in a lake or land locked place,but i have caught them in a tidal river i fish in often.i have not caught any this year,but last year i caught some nice ones over a pound.they fight really good! i wish i would hook into some,i love em!every spring they have a run up that river.i wonder if it is possable to net whole schools of them and just go dump them into a tidal river where they naturally belong? or feed hungry people with em?

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j3...1.jpg~original

Picture that wasn't in the last post.

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Originally Posted by bxn

i wonder if it is possable to net whole schools of them and just go dump them into a tidal river where they naturally belong?

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Probably possible, and illegal in many states if done by private individuals, for good reason--I wouldn't want anybody but a fisheries biologist determining where a species "naturally belongs." Not saying you came off as planning to do this, but I wouldn't want other readers of this thread to get such ideas.

Here are both, the top one is a white perch and the bottom one is the white bass, both caught at port bay, lake ontario new york.
icejohn
Attachment 141146

yah,im possative that you need to obtain a permit from the dnr to stock fish anywhere here.so maybe the dnr should think about doing it where ever they encounter problems with these fish in various states.i remember watching videos on youtube about how some one put yellow perch in a lake they had stocked with trout.the yellow perch took over and were hogging the food sources from the trout.they(dnr or whatever wildlife authorities) put some big net in the water and took a lot of yellow perch out and brought them somewhere in some truck

white perch are extremely abundant in NC about everywhere. They are prolific and very good eating. I don't think you will get rid of them once they get extablished, so I just catch them and eat them. They provide food for catfish, stripers and catfish also. They will eat fish eggs, but so will a lot of other fish. You'll find them shallow in the spring when other fish are spawning, but most of the year they eat shad and aquatic bugs like helgramites and plankton. I've seen some times of year where they are full of bugs and other times where they are stuffed with shad. If they get established in your lakes, all you can do is try to manage them which for me means if I want fish to eat, I just go fish for perch. They're easy to catch and great eating. Other than texture, they are about the same mild flavor as crappie. They actually stay together better than crappie if you fry them, but they're good any way you cook them. I've caught several this year close to 2 lb.

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Originally Posted by crappiefarmer

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

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White perch, crappie and sac-a-lait are the same thing, called different depending on where you live in the Louisiana. They are highly sought after, have a pro fishing circuit, and are the best tasting fish period. No one here calls them crappie.

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Originally Posted by Oldyankee

White perch, crappie and sac-a-lait are the same thing ...

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Maybe in Louisiana, but this thread is about another fish called the white perch. It is not a crappie.

See posts 19 and 27.

You have there a white bass.

The easiest way to tell the perch from the white bass is to lift the front dorsal fin. If the back one comes up with it you have a perch, otherwise it is a white bass. Had a marine biologist tell me that after numerous attempts to tell them apart. There are other differences but this is the easiest way to determine.
Here is a link http://www.identicards.com/allaboutf...asp?fish=white perch
It states in this link that the dorsal fin is not separated which is why both parts come up if you lift one, not so the white bass,

I live in central PA, and all the lakes are "over run" with White Perch!

I say "thank God" they breed fast, are great fighters, they will hit a crappie jig or a fly with gusto, and they are excellent table fare.

They seem to dominate a lake, but they don't bother the crappie or bluegill. Some say the white perch will eat the small walleye, but I would rather catch one thousand white perch rather than a walleye or two?

Delicious firm white meat, that are equal to crappie, when you fillet them. They grow fast, the average size in PA is about 10" to 11"

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps8f933d94.jpg



Those two fish pan fried:
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...pse75ee30a.jpg


http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps9bdc9158.jpg


Kinda like a little striped bass?
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...psf6139bbe.jpg

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Originally Posted by Crappitier

I live in central PA, and all the lakes are "over run" with White Perch!

I say "thank God" they breed fast, are great fighters, they will hit a crappie jig or a fly with gusto, and they are excellent table fare.

They seem to dominate a lake, but they don't bother the crappie or bluegill. Some say the white perch will eat the small walleye, but I would rather catch one thousand white perch rather than a walleye or two?

Delicious firm white meat, that are equal to crappie, when you fillet them. They grow fast, the average size in PA is about 10" to 11"

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps8f933d94.jpg



Those two fish pan fried:
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...pse75ee30a.jpg


http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps9bdc9158.jpg


Kinda like a little striped bass?
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...psf6139bbe.jpg

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YES!!!!! Those are real white perch. For those that don't know, this is the what the Real White perch looks like. That is its name and it has no other. It is in the same family as the striped bass and white bass and has characteristics of those fish. It is natural to brackish water areas but can thrive in fresh water, has been introduced to many lakes and is considered a bad fish to have in the mix. If You have these fish in your lake and have never eaten one, TRY IT!!!!! It is just as good as crappie. Some people around my home say they are the best eating fish that swims. We Have no limit and You can fill a whole cooler full of these fish at times. they pull hard and are ferocious feeders. Shrimp is probably the best known bait for them here but beetlespins hammer them along with sabiki rigs and many other small plastics. Minnows work too. You can spider rig and long line troll for them but if You hit a school, You may have to put some rods up. i mean to just using one rod when they are on.CF

They have appeared suddenly in my lake a few years ago. They are all over and very aggresive. They suspend in the summer and bust the shad on the surface with the bass. Very gold in color here.

White perch, white bass, striped bas, and hybrids are in the BASS family

Largemouth, smallmouth, spotted bass, rock bass, crappie, bluegill and other sunfish are in the SUNFISH family.

Walleye, sauger and yellow perch are in the PERCH family

http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps284fafbc.jpg

Thanks for the pictures because terminology varies in different area of the country and it can be quite confusing. I live on Lay Lake on the Coosa River in Alabama. We do not have what are shown in these pictures and called white perch. In Mississippi most people call Crappie "white perch". Lay Lake has both black crappie and white crappie but the style of fishing I prefer (casting jigs) produces more blacks than whites.