YELLOW PERCH 



Perca flavescens (Mitchill) 



The yellow perch is one of the four most important warmwater 

 game fish in Maine, although it is not presently as popular with the resi- 

 dent anglers of Maine as it is with the anglers from other states within 

 its range. Yellow perch are found along the Atlantic drainage from 

 Nova Scotia to South Carolina and westward to the upper Mississippi 

 valley. Their preferred habitat is a warm weedy lake with the young in 

 shallows and the adults in deeper waters. 



Spawning takes place near shore in April and early May when the 

 water temperatures are between 44 and 54 F. Each gravid female is fol- 

 lowed by 15 to 25 males that fertilize the eggs as they are spawned. 

 The eggs are unique among freshwater fishes as they are laid in a 

 gelatinous matrix in accordian-like strings. These strings of eggs swell 

 considerably upon contact with water becoming one to eight feet long, 

 depending on the size of the female. Egg strings are grayish-white in 

 color, semibuoyant, and nonadhesive. Spawning almost always takes 

 place near shore where the egg strings can be woven in and around 

 aquatic plants or brush where they are deposited. There is no parental 

 care and many egg masses are eaten by other animals or destroyed when 

 they are washed up on shore or when low water strands them. Young 

 perch hatch in three or four weeks. 



The yellow perch is carnivorous, feeding on young fishes (includ- 

 ing yellow perch), aquatic insects, crustaceans, and other animal ma- 

 terial. This fish is a serious competitor of the other game fishes. 



Yellow perch reach a length of about 12 inches and a weight of 

 nearly a pound in 9 or 10 years. A fast-growing female may attain a 

 length of 12 inches in 5 years. A two-pound perch is a very large one. 

 The all-time record is a four and one-quarter pound specimen taken in 

 the Delaware River in 1865. 



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