The yellow perch (Perca flavescens) is favored for its firm, white flesh with a clean, un-fishy flavor. I find it humorous that we, myself included, often prefer fish that don’t taste “fishy”. That being as it may, the perch was, in good part, responsible for the Wisconsin Friday Night Fish Fry. There was a thriving commercial fishery for Lake Michigan perch from the 1950’s through the 1980’s. Restaurants across the state advertised Friday specials featuring “Lake Perch” as the main course. The recreational harvest by fishermen featured liberal bag limits during this time period.
The perch population in Lake Michigan collapsed during the 1990’s. The reasons for the collapse are unknown, but predation, invasive aquatic species and changes to lake ecology were the leading suspects. The perch harvest in the big lake was shut down. The human taste for perch did not collapse. Fishermen and women continued to attempt to find and catch perch in the many lakes and rivers across the Badger State.
If you enjoy perch fishing, as I do, you probably know that Wisconsin is home to some of the best perch populations in the country. A healthy perch population includes fish of all sizes, including a number of older, larger adults. Perch prefer cool waters with plenty of insects and small fish to eat. A large perch, of twelve inches or better, is fairly rare as they have lived long enough to get older and bigger. Waters that contain good perch numbers are also home to larger walleyes, pike and muskies that feed heavily on perch.
Those that are enamored with big perch know that there are four spots in the United States that are known to harbor a good number of adult perch. These are Green Bay, the upper Mississippi River, Lake Gogebic in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Cascade Lake in Idaho. Wisconsin is home to half of these trophy waters.
My first encounter with a trophy perch came on Green Bay when my wife reeled in a fourteen inch fish while trolling for walleyes. While the walleye fishing was good, the big perch was an additional trophy. The perch was mounted and added to the basement trophy room. I caught up to her a couple years later with a perch of the same size hooked on the Mississippi River. It joined the other perch on the wall.
I joined my grandson and son-in-law on an excursion in January to catch some perch through the ice of Green Bay. We were all hoping for a fifteen-inch perch for the wall. While those larger fish eluded us, we did manage to secure several meals worth of great tasting perch filets and a nice pike.
The most reliable perch bite occurs around the spawning run in early spring. I found my way to the Mississippi River in early April hoping for a meal or two of perch. Several other boats greeted us as we arrived at a popular spot on the big river. Fishing for perch was not fast and furious, but perch were being hooked along with occasional bluegills.
Our time on the river was nearing the end when I set the hook in response to a twitch at the end of my fishing rod. Upon hooking the fish, I asked my partner to grab the landing net, as I remarked, “This is not a perch!” I was very surprised as the fish reached the surface and showed itself to be a perch of unexpected size. We remained calm and quiet as the fish was netted, measured and added to the boat’s live well. Fishing in groups of boats requires that you attempt to keep good fish a secret, to avoid movement of boats to your locale.
Official measurements and photos were taken upon arrival at the boat landing. The perch measured a bit longer than fifteen inches, earning it a spot on the wall of our trophy room.
John Cler is a retired high school science teacher and principal residing in Richland Center. He is an avid hunter, fisher, trapper and nature nut. He currently chairs the Richland County Deer Advisory Council and the Richland County Delegation of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress.
