Titan ReloadingInline FabricationReloading EverythingLee Precision
RotoMetals2Load DataWidenersMidSouth Shooters Supply
Repackbox
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 42

Thread: Anybody like the lowly perch?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    eastern Montana
    Posts
    707

    Anybody like the lowly perch?

    Here in Eastern Montana the Walleye is King. But, as usual, I don't follow the crowd. I prefer fishing for perch. There's a little reservoir an hour from home where I can catch all I care to fillet in a day. While I watch all the others trying for one or two walleyes a day I haul in 60 to 80 nice perch and go home with plenty. We put 300 or so in the freezer each summer to last us over the winter and still have plenty to give away. The pond has so many that MFW&P traps them to transfer to other locations so I'm helping keep them from overpopulating. Many are nice 10 to 11 1/2 inchers. Anything small and dark-colored works. Worms with a Crappie Nibble on the hooks tip work well, also. But my favorite is a small Berkley Atomic Tube, usually a dark green. My favorite tackle is an Ultra-Light Ugly Stick with a Pflueger Ultra-Light and 4# line. It'll even handle the occasional Northern Pike if it isn't too big. Twitch just over the weed tops and it's "fish on". BTW, smaller fish have less contaminants so are healthier to eat. And the perch is one tasty fish.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master shredder's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Saskatchewan Canada
    Posts
    800
    Love perch.

    We used to have a local lake that would give up piles of perch in the pound range. Big uns! I fondly remember filling a wire basket so full we could not get the lid to go inside to add any more fish! After a memorable summer out there we had a LOT of perch fillets in the freezer. Bit of crumbs fried in butter, oh man!

    Sadly the lake froze out that winter and it has never been the same.

    Perch were the fish of choice for both my kids growing up. We sould always take time out from Pike fishing to get into our favorite prech spots. Shallow super clear water where the kids could watch the perch rush in and gather around their micro jig, waiting for one to grab it and they always did! I would bring a 5 gallon bucket in the boat and fill it half full of water so the kids could put a few perch in there to watch. The dog loved that too! We always let those ones go as they only weighed a few ounces! Funny thing is though, when the kids talk about great fishing from those days, they don't talk 25 pound pike, they remember the perch in the pail!

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy Bo1's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Tioga, LA
    Posts
    384
    We have some very tasty perch down here as well... love catching them and cooking them up....ours get a little bigger depending on which species you are after... "white perch" can get up to a couple of pounds.
    "Those who hammer their guns into plows, will plow for those who do not"
    Thomas Jefferson

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
    429421Cowboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Montana
    Posts
    1,161
    I belong and am very active in our local Walleyes Unlimited chapter, and love walleye like crazy, but honestly i could care less what i catch! My honest favorite is a good sized northern, for both the fight and they taste about like lobster to me! But i also love catching perch, our chapter has done alot of habitat improvement in Tiber lake where we usually fish, so the perch numbers are doing great now, and as a result so are the walleyes. There is just as much fun for me catching a big ol' 12" perch as a walleye, i am just happy to catch fish!
    Raisin' Black Angus cows, outta gas, outta money, outta tags, low on boolits, but full 'a hope on the Rocky Mountain Eastern Slope!
    Why does a man with a 7mag never panic buy? Because a man with a 7mag has no need to panic!

    "If you ain't shootin', you should be reloadin' if you ain't reloadin' you should be movin', if you ain't movin', somebody's gonna come by and cut your head off and put it on a stick!" Words to fight by, from Clint Smith

  5. #5
    Boolit Master dbosman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    East Lansing, MI, USA
    Posts
    1,995
    In the 60's we used to take hundreds of yellow perch from Lake Erie and Saginaw bay.
    I learned to filet, fast, when it became my chore to clean fish.

    For Lent, every VFW hall, and there were some big ones, had all you can eat perch. At least once a season dad got muskrat.

  6. #6
    Boolit Mold
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Gainesville Florida
    Posts
    1
    I have always loved perch....grew up in central Canada....my Dad introduced me to perch fishing.....my grandmother would clean them, and I always enjoyed them.

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy cloakndagger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    South MS
    Posts
    158
    LOWLY!! Surely you jest sir! Perch is kings feasting down here, if you get four or five its cause for celebration and feasting! Loooooooove perch, but theyre a bugger to catch here because youre in catfish country, and big cats are the top of the food chain.
    Any man who seeks to live free should keep a Bible on his desk and a .45 in the drawer.

  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy


    DxieLandMan's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Alabama
    Posts
    298
    I love the perch. Used to catch a lot of them when they went on the bed. if we did not feel like cleaning them, we turned them back loose in our ponds. The largemouth bass really like them.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master




    bruce drake's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Brownsburg, Indiana
    Posts
    4,231
    Love to catch perch. Taste great pan fried as well. I will pass up Bass if I can find a perch or bluegill pond to fish in.

    Bruce
    I Cast my Boolits, Therefore I am Happy.
    Bona Fide member of the Jeff Brown Hunt Club

  10. #10
    Moderator Emeritus


    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    SW Montana
    Posts
    12,452
    My fishing partner and I got in on a private pond last week. We caught about 45 perch and 6 were nice ones, 10"-13". The rest would fit in the palm of your hand. The river overflowed a few years back and he got perch into the pond and desperatly needs a management plan.
    I did make something to convince my wife that I am still the eater of the grossest things known to man. After frying up some fillets, I mixed all the eggs after seperating them from their sac's into an equal portion of a stiff pancake batter. I fried them up for a perch egg biscut. Not bad with a mild flavor.
    [The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
    JWFilips's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Northeastern part of Penn's Woods near Slocum Hollow.
    Posts
    1,920
    Quote Originally Posted by bruce drake View Post
    Love to catch perch. Taste great pan fried as well. I will pass up Bass if I can find a perch or bluegill pond to fish in.

    Bruce
    +1 Same Here!
    " Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation: for it is better to be alone than in bad company. " George Washington

  12. #12
    In Remembrance
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    fairbanks
    Posts
    9,015
    Even love the little ones. My wife used to grind them up and mix in peppers and spices to make some great fish patties. I would even take them in my lunch as they were great even cold that way. Bluegills, redears and sun perch are just plain tasty.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    eastern Montana
    Posts
    707
    429421 Cowboy...I've got family in Great Falls and Havre and have wondered what the fishin' is like in Tiber. I live in Miles City but if I get the chance to visit up there it might be worth dragging the fishin' boat along, huh? What kind of habitat is there? Weedy? I was surprised to see so many perch lovers here. Great!

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
    historicfirearms's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Petoskey, MI
    Posts
    1,379
    Perch is one of my favorite fish. When I was a kid we had access to a private lake that was full of jumbo perch. We ate a bunch of messes of them just cleaning them and dipping in Drakes mix. Dad decided one day to fillet some of the biggest ones. Guess what... They were full of grubs just under the skin. It's kind of gross, I guess, but they were still some of the best tasting fish I've ever had.

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy

    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    MT
    Posts
    319
    I shoot the national matches at Camp Perry, and eat at the Jolly Roger. Their Perch Boat is the best meal on the menu. I don't know which I look forward to more- the Perch Boat or the national matches.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master



    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Alexandria VA
    Posts
    594
    I haven't had perch in ages, but remember them as my favorite fish out of Indiana lakes, versus Bass, Muskie and Bluegill. Ate a lot more Bluegill than perch, but that's what was caught.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
    pmeisel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Teays Valley
    Posts
    659
    Grew up on Lake Erie, have caught my share of walleye and perch, and I prefer perch both to catch and eat, every time......
    Paul

  18. #18
    Boolit Mold
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Central Texas
    Posts
    19
    I would rather eat perch than any type of fish. Even like to fry the tails and eat 'em like chips.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master daniel lawecki's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    toledo ohio
    Posts
    722
    Fish for perch alot I live just miles from the Lake Erie.

  20. #20
    Banned

    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    soda springs Id.
    Posts
    28,088
    i have a great spot near here for yellow perch they get about 7-" at their biggest but we get plenty of 4-5" ones.
    we have the white ones in the reservoir a few blocks from the house and they too get a whopping 4-5"s.
    we mostly just torment them and watch them attack jigs and lures with no hooks on them just so we can "release" them without taking them out of the lake.

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check