Read the article with FishingTheSpot: the perch
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See the fishing tripsThe Perch
It can be fished from June to December
18 cm
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The Perch fish belongs to the Percidae Family. Its size, on average 15 to 20 cm, can reach 60 cm for a weight of 4.5 kg. Life expectancy is about 6 years (maximum 22 years). The perch spawns in April and lays between 4000 and 300,000 eggs. It is caught from June to December.
Its body is stocky, high, yellow-green with broad transverse stripes; the belly is yellowish to matt white. Its ventral, anal and caudal fins are red; the anterior dorsal fin has sharp rays and a black spot on the back. Its operculum is finished by a strong thorn.
The Perch fish lifestyle
It is a sedentary carnivore living in schools; large individuals are solitary. The perch is a carnivore that feeds on insect larvae, crustaceans, young crayfish and occasionally fish eggs. It becomes a piscivore at a size of 12 cm. Large individuals are solitary hunters who eat small roaches, breams, etc. It mainly hunts by sight during the day (preferably at sunrise and sunset). Cannibalism is common in this species. The temperature affects the food: in winter, it does not eat or barely.
Perch spawn in April (water temperature 7-8°C), in shallow water among vegetation or on roots or small branches. The female, followed by one or more males, stiffens (U-shaped) and swims in a spiral (clockwise) releasing its eggs. Tights, they are laid in one go, in less than five seconds, and in a string of 1 to 2 m long similar to a garland. They are between 4,000 and 300,000 depending on the size of the female. The membrane around them makes them inedible to other fish and they are therefore protected. They hatch after 1 to 3 weeks. The 5 mm long fry live for a while on the reserves of their vesicle. After it disappears, they feed first on zooplankton, then on small benthic animals. After one year, they measure 4 to 6 cm. Their size ranges from 8 to 12 cm to two years. The male is sexually mature at 1 or 2 years of age, the female at 2 to 4 years of age (when its height is 15 to 25 cm).
The perch fish habitat
The perch lives in slow-moving rivers, lakes and deep ponds; it avoids cold and fast waters but can enter them. It is normally found near or among submerged objects.
It is extremely common in all types of rivers (outside the upper reaches), lakes and ponds that have good oxygenation conditions; it is also present in brackish waters.
Europe: from France to Eastern Siberia and the Kolyma River. However, it does not exist at the southern and northern extremes of Europe.
Common in some places in the brackish waters of the Baltic Sea.
It has been widely introduced (Azores, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Morocco, Australia, China, New Zealand, South Africa, etc.). Several countries report, after introduction, an unfavorable impact on ecology.
The perch fish angling
The perch is receptive to both natural and artificial bait. The majority of fishermen who are specifically looking for it fish with lures during periods when it is open. Smaller lures are particularly effective, such as swimming fish and soft lures between 6 and 8 centimeters. The medium-size rotating spoons (size 2 or 3) make it easy to fish for quite beautiful perch, about twenty centimeters if they are present.
