I’ve dedicated many years to perch fishing on Lake Erie. Charter trips are conducted in Michigan or Ohio depending on where the best bite is at. Perch fishing is best starting mid to late August through the fall into October. As waters cool in late summer and fall, yellow perch generally form schools, and are caught fairly easily using live minnows for bait. Hands down perch are the best eating fish on the Great Lakes.
About Perch – Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens
Identifying characteristics: (Native Fish) Two dorsal fins separated into a spiny and soft-rayed portion, yellow sides, seven blackish bars on the sides, no canine teeth.
The yellow perch and walleye, members of the Percidae or perch family, are characterized by a dorsal fin, which is completely divided into a spiny and a separate soft-rayed portion. Both are important game fish in the Great Lakes area.
Yellow perch have the distinction of being the most frequently caught game fish in Michigan. In addition their reputation as a tasty treat makes them a doubly valuable Great Lakes product. The gregarious perch travel in schools, generally preferring relatively shallow waters near shore. They are rarely taken from waters more than 30 feet deep, although in spring and fall they inhabit shallower areas than they do in the heat of the summer, they tend to travel shoreward each morning and evening to feed, while during the spring and fall they appear to feed throughout the day. At night they appear to rest on the bottom and refrain from feeding. Unlike many Great Lakes fish species, perch remain active all winter long under the ice in both shallow and deeper water, hence they provide the ice fisherman with much sport and many a meal. When given the choice, perch prefer a water temperature of 66-70 degrees F and some suggest they follow the 68 degree F water temperature levels in their seasonal movements. They inhabit all the Great Lakes, with greatest Michigan concentrations in Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, Saginaw Bay, the eastern end of the U.P. and southern Michigan.
Adult perch dine primarily on immature insects, larger invertebrates, (crayfish, etc.) and the eggs and young of other fish, which they take both from open water and from the bottom. In turn, bass, walleye, and northern pike all prey on perch.
Perch average adult length is 4-10 inches, with a weight of 4-10 ounces, although adult size is quite variable. Perch are prolific breeders, but growth and ultimate size depend on population density and habitat productivity.
Let’s Fish!
August – October
One Trip Daily
Morning – 5 to 6 Hours or Limit (boat leaves the dock at 7am)
2 to 6 Persons
All fishing equipment and Bait provided, or bring your own rods and reels and I’ll set you up
Commercial Fish cleaning available, offsite. Priced per pound live weight.
Call for current rates.
Stray Cat Charter Fishing LLC is a Michigan based charter fishing guide service providing quality Michigan sport fishing for walleye since 1994.
I can arrange for additional charter boats to accommodate larger group.