It would be tough to find a fish as tasty as yellow perch that is so easy to catch. It doesn't matter how old you are, how much fishing experience you've had or what time of year it is. In a day you will probably catch several of these small pan fish or very likely alot more. Anywhere you find weeds, you can usually catch perch. You can catch them any time of year.

In spite of the type of lure, bait, or type of gear, success is often a matter of how well the bait is presented to the fish. Perch orient toward the bottom, and for any bait or lure to be effective it is essential that it is fished on or near the bottom. When perch are located, fishing may be slow at first, but most often action is fast and furious as schools of perch move through while feeding. A strike may occur as the bait drops, but most often it occurs just as the bait is lifted off the bottom so be ready.

If you fish the vast waters of Lake Michigan for perch you know how much fun it can be. You also know how difficult it can be to find the fish on some days. I fish out of South Haven MI and try to get on the water 40 days every summer. In sharing some of my experience I hope it helps someone catch more fish.

I like to fish the perch in relation to the water temp and the time of year. Early in the year I find big schools of Perch in 50-65 ft. It may seem hopeless but try to find a depression or something hard on the bottom. In the summer when the water is close to 70 deg f they tend to be in the 20-30 ft range. I have done very well by fishing a small depression maybe 20 foot in diameter.

The yellow perch is a fish that is prevalent in quite a few different areas. Some areas that have yellow perch in the lakes and rivers are Canada, the Great Lakes region and even through Pennsylvania all the way to South Carolina.

These sought after fish are also seen in other states such as Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana and Utah. It is important to learn about the habitat and habits of the yellow perch in order to know the best ways to catch these types of fish.

The yellow perch is found in the states listed above in the many lakes and rivers which permeate those regions. These fish tend to eat during daylight hours and maintain an active lifestyle, so to speak. The yellow perch are most still when it is nighttime, which makes it easy for daytime fishermen to catch this type of species. The yellow perch is part of the Percidae fish family and is related to the walleye and the sauger.