Exclusively Yellow Perch in a cold wet snow from shore

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Comment by John Sheehan on November 10, 2012 at 5:59pm

It always stymied me that White Bass are considered a Bass family member  yet just like Yellow Perch they have the rough sandpaper feel to their scales when touched against the grain .

 The White Perch always seem to be hard to target but show up sometimes when trolling or when first catching other species .I never caught the numbers in my lake like YP.Thanks as always David  for your research and input .Sure wish we could wet a line sometime together !

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on November 10, 2012 at 5:45pm

27 years on one lake - that is phenomenal. Talk about consistency....

The fact that you have access to a boat in which you can sit and move around is a step up, in my esteem. However you come by it, I'll count your blessings for you. Let me tell you; my kayak is uniquely fun, but not long on spacious accommodation! ;-)

AS for the white perch (which aren't perch at all), it is official. As of 2008, they were removed from any list of game- or non-game fish in the Palmetto State. This decision was based mostly on their prolific numbers and their propensity to prey on the eggs and fry of more desirable sporting fishes.

I read one citation that actually encourages anglers to take them at will, in any number. You don't see THAT very often in the conservation world...

Comment by John Sheehan on November 8, 2012 at 5:00pm

What a great post David !I'm copying and pasting to the Perch group.

Yes I am a lower case Fisherman that only seems to score high marks at a familiar small Suburban lake ,but I see the benefits in knowing every inch of the lake and the 12 months of seasonal movements and productive areas in my 27 years of angling here ! I cant afford lakefront property ,I have a 14' electric motor driven boat given to me by a sweet friend who has often come to see me play guitar and kept my wife company at my gigs and the boat is trailored by another gift from a brothers Father in law  that my brother trusted me to caretake if I take him fishing .

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on November 8, 2012 at 3:39pm

I like that you fish a particular lake to the point that you know it so well. Certainly, living there makes huge difference to that. If I had “known then what I know now,” I would have planned better for lake front retirement. 20 years ago I would never have thought such a thing would appeal to me. As it is, I could only afford to move close. So it goes.

Regardless, John, thanks for the welcome. I catch both white and yellow perch on my home lake, although not often on the same outing. If had a boat with enough horsepower and a decent sonar, though, I’m certain I could make it happen.

The first time I caught a yellow perch here in South Carolina, I was stunned. It was such a beautiful fish. Yellow, green, black bands, orange fins – it looked like it belonged under lights. I honestly thought it might be some sort of aquarium escapee; the colors were just so vivid. As I recall it was caught on just a worm and a hook.

Eventually, I learned that I am at the southern edge of its range. My local water, Lake Murray, has plenty of them. It is a huge reservoir and so it has plenty of area for them. The last one I caught was on a Johnson Minnow with curly tail trailer.

As for the white perch I know they are there in numbers, traveling around in schools. Years ago I used to camp at Lake Murray and we would catch scads of them from the boat. I took more pleasure out of dropping worms to them than I did fishing for bass.

An interesting thing about the ‘whities’ is that, as far as I can determine, there are no bag restrictions on them. South Carolina doesn't even recognize them. The state defines the following as “gamefish”

• Bream - bluegill, flier, green sunfish; pumpkinseed, redbreast, redear (shellcracker), spotted sunfish; warmouth;

• Bass - largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, redeye bass (coosae bass); striped bass or rockfish; white bass; hybrid striped bass;

• Crappie - White crappie, black crappie;

• Trout - rainbow, brown and brook,

• Pickerel - Chain pickerel (jackfish), redfin pickerel

•  Sauger and walleye

• Yellow perch.

The reg's go on to say that, "... Freshwater *nongame* fish are any freshwater fish species not classfied as game fish."

White perch are not mentioned anywhere in the regulations. I’m betting that were it just you and the warden, though, the 30/day limit for panfish or yellow perch would apply.

Comment by John Sheehan on November 8, 2012 at 2:49pm

BTW David ,glad you joined the Perch group!

Comment by John Sheehan on November 8, 2012 at 2:48pm

A thread from my pants I think . Yes the Fish are chowin'down  Today was slower and this spot yielded zilch except for a small yp on a spinner .The other end of the lake turned on late (3 pm)Mostly Crappie and a few Perch.Slip floated Jigs and a hammered silver spoon.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on November 8, 2012 at 2:42pm

Those fish are gettin' busy - they know that Winter is just around the corner.

PS What is that on the fish's back? Looks like a worm or something.....

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