PERCH 



Unlike the Three-Spined Stickleback (the male of which 

 is red underneath, and the female pale yellow, during 

 the breeding season), the Ten-Spined lacks these brilliant 

 colours and becomes dark brownish. 



Perch. — Perca fluviatilis (Fig. 60). This hump-backed 

 tenant of our rivers, lakes, and other sheets of water is 

 one of the handsomest of all with its rough bronze-green 

 body, dark back, and vertical bands, and very prickly 

 front dorsal fin which begins almost above the head. 

 The Perch wanders about in shoals, and is so ravenous 



that, when on the feed, the whole number can be caught 



in a very short time. Even if a hook is lost, the same fish 



may be re-captured with the missing hook inside its mouth. 



It is a bold-biting and game little fish, and one is often 



deceived at the smallness of the specimen that has shown 



so much fight before being landed. The larger fish are 



more wary, but even so, I have had splendid bags of 



Perch which have weighed an average of 2 pounds each. 



Larger specimens weighing 3 to 4 poimds have fallen to 



my rod, but the maximum weight is heavier than this. 



107 



