Yellow perch

[philbush1127]

I'm really new into the whole art of fly fishing but do people ever fish for yellow perch on here with flies?

 

[Guest1]

Not that I have heard specifically. I have caught them on Clousers by accident and smaller flies like wooly buggers.

Have you got a spot where you have caught them other ways besides fly fishing?

 

[littledavid123]

Seems like there was a fellow on here at one time who was picking up some yellow perch, can't remember who it was though. We need a resident expert on fly fishing for that species! :thmbup:

Dave

 

[cowpokey]

The only time I've ever targeted yellow perch was through the ice...so no, not with a fly rod.

 

[theboz]

Catch Yellow Perch all the time in the lakes by me. There not picky and just about any wet fly , nymph or small streamer will work. The big ones spawn here in Febuary and we get them in the Lehigh River on San Juan worms .
There great eating and when we want a mess for the pan when we get one we tie a ballon to it so we can follow the school and keep on hooking up. You would be amazed at how much that school will travel around a lake in a short period of time.
Good thing to do is a stomach pump or autopsy when your cleaning them because of the varied food they eat . For me it seems every lake has a key food they zone in on. One of the bigger ones by us the perch were filled with hellgrammites and crayfish where as a smaller pond nearby nothing but fathead minnows.
Funny thing there are so many yellow perch in the north eastern part of the country that I thought everyone new about them but I found out different a few years back. I was fishing the Healy Resecoir in Wyoming with a terrific fly guy from Oregon for trout. We had a great day catching a bunch of trout and suckers on beadhesd buggers when he gets this big yellow perch. He looks at me and asks what is this ? I thought he was joking but in all his travels and fishing adventures he had never seen or caught one! So he didn't want pictures of the trout he wanted one of his first Yellow Perch!

 

[philbush1127]

I've caught one on the spillway of the huge man made lake I go fishing at by my house with a spinning reel and a small minnow going after trout but he obviously just made his way over the falls on accident. The other day I went to the deepest part of the lake with my kayak and set a anchor and use two rods with crappie rigs and minnows but I didn't cover a lot of land and didn't catch anything

 

[grundy]

I've heard of a gent who has done well fishing for them with a muddler minnow when they are in shallow in Lake Michigan.

B

 

[bigjim5589]

They're one of the first fish to move into the upper ends of rivers around here in the early spring to spawn. It's already happened, doesn't last long, then they scatter into the river systems. When I was a kid, I would start fishing for them in late Feb & early March, usually with minnows below a float & when I started catching them, then start throwing flies or lures.

I've done well with small, simple streamers & wet flies. Otherwise, I've caught them while targeting other species. Most any fly that imitates baitfish will work, and they'll eat various insects too, both aquatic & terrestrial.

I've caught them too while fishing with various lures for bass, such as crankbaits & spinnerbaits. Small spoons & spinners work well.

I posted some flies awhile back that I had tied & to which I had added small single blade spinners. I've caught a lot of Yellow Perch on that fly & spinner combination.

As theboz has said, they're not picky!

Here's the flies I had posted previously. All are size 4.

 

[philbush1127]

picture of the first and only perch i have caught and now i am still trying for more. gonna go back out this week once it has warmed up a little more its been cold here in pittsburgh the past couple days

 

[chased]

I catch lots of perch out of the lakes and reservoirs that frequently fish. They don't seem to be picky at all. I was out all day yesterday throwing poppers for bluegill and caught at least 10 perch. If you like to eat fish, you can't go wrong with a bunch of 10"+ perch. Almost like a little walleye, but better!

Chase

 

[nick k]

I've been catching a good amount of perch by me lately. They don't seem to be too picky or shy about fly selection. I think I've got most of them on a briminator or MM minnow, but it doesn't seem like I would have had trouble attracting them with most of my other flies.

I'm new to the perch game myself but am finding them very fun on the fly rod. They are kind of like mini bonefish in that they make a mad dash once you set the hook. They don't give up very easily, and will continue to dash all over the place until you get them out of the water.

 

[philbush1127]

Yeah he was a fighter for sure I was using an ultra light spinning rod fighting him

 

[nick k]

Yeah he was a fighter for sure I was using an ultra light spinning rod fighting him

Yeah I've been getting mine on my 2wt. They are a blast. Interesting fish to hold as well. They skin is very rough, like holding a sandpaper cylinder.

 

[philbush1127]

Yeah I noticed that! I felt like I was going to cut myself holding him

 

[bigjim5589]

Yellow Perch are relatives of the Walleye. Excellent table fare too. Their scales are small, and they're a bit tough to get those scales off, plus those spiny fins & sharp gill covers can inflict some nasty wounds. I used to keep them to eat, but now usually release most of them. IMO, they're better for eating when caught in the colder waters of early spring or winter than they are after the waters warm up.

Here in MD we have White Perch too. No relation between the two. White Perch are actually related to White Bass & Striped Bass. They're a lot of fun on flies as well, and are one of my favorite fish for eating. White Perch also are not picky about flies.

Here's some flies I like to use for both types of perch. Most are tied on size 4 & 6 hooks, a few on size 2.

 

[ditz]

Hey BigJim....that is a nice assortment of bonefish flies.

 

[nick k]

I bet you buy your dumbbell eyes and flash by the truckload.

 

[bigjim5589]

Thanks!

ditz, I like tying them, & since there are no Bonefish here, I've found they work well for the other fishes that are here!

nick, old habits are hard to break! When I tied commercially I bought in bulk. Now I find it difficult to want to buy those small packs, so yes, I still like to buy in quantity!

Actually, a lot of these are tied with bead chain. I bought a couple of spools of it!

 

[nick k]

Well they are all great looking flies, very professionally done.

 

[philbush1127]

I just bought some of those beady eye flies today ill have to give them a try!

---------- Post added at 04:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:12 PM ----------

Does it really make a difference with the taste when it comes to the tempature of the water?