39 



CHAPTER VI. 



PERCH. 



PERCH (Perca fluviatilis). 



To encounter a i j Ib. perch on a 

 light rod and in a rapid stream is 

 an event in a lad's life not soon 

 forgotten. It is probable that the 

 red worm which allured the fish 

 was intended for a roach or a 

 modest gudgeon. I have seen a 

 youth in such an unexpected pre- 

 dicament ; his face was blanched, 

 he was trembling in every limb. 

 No wonder, indeed, for Perca is 

 no ordinary fighter. The rod was 

 bent double, and more than once 

 the top was dragged into the 

 water. " Would the fight never 

 end ? " the face behind the rod 

 seemed to be asking in its tense 

 earnestness. At length the striped 

 sides came to the surface sur- 

 mounted by a large dorsal fin men- 

 acingly erect, and a mouth gaping 

 wide enough to swallow rod and 

 boy together. " I am the tiger of 

 the river," it seemed to say, 

 " touch me at your peril." 



An effective swoop of the net 

 was the answer to the challenge. 

 The youth, beside himself with the 

 delight of the prize, plunged his 

 hand into the net only to with- 

 draw it bleeding. By means of 

 the sharp spines of the dorsal fin 

 the perch had his revenge. This 

 defensive part of the fish is indeed 

 a formidable weapon. It consists 

 of from fourteen to sixteen brist- 

 ling rays sharp enough to pene- 

 trate any flesh or fish substance 

 with which they come into con- 

 tact. The rays are so arranged 

 as to allow the fin to open and 

 close like a fan. Whilst the 

 fish is alive it is difficult to press 



them down, and when released 

 they fly erect again like a steel 

 spring. The membrane to which 

 the spines are attached is thin but 

 exceedingly tough and not easily 

 ruptured. A sharp bone covering 

 the gills is another part of the 

 perch's armour. With such an 

 outfit this fish needs careful man- 

 ipulation. The belief that pike 

 eschew perch because of its brist- 

 ling dorsal is an exploded fallacy. 

 No doubt the prey must be swal- 

 lowed tail first, but that the pike 

 has a preference for it, compared 

 with other baits, I have person- 

 ally proved. A f Ib. specimen 

 secured me a 16 Ib. pike in Lough 

 Conn, Ireland; what lucius' in- 

 tentions were in the method of 

 pouching it I had no means of 

 observing. The appearance of 

 the perch flatters the pike's taste ; 

 the vermilion tail and ventral fin, 

 the golden-brown scales barred 

 with transverse stripes, and the 

 iridescent hue that flashes out 

 from the skin make him an at- 

 tractive object of prey. His 

 white flesh possesses a delicate 

 flavour which the pike likes to 

 sample. 



Perch spawn prolifically in 

 April and May, laying many 

 thousands of eggs, which are 

 strung together and deposited on 

 water weeds. In this respect they 

 differ from the Salmonidce family, 

 which lay their eggs collec- 

 tively.. The fish run to 5 Ib. or 

 61b. weight, although the latter 

 size is rare. 



There is a great variety of the 

 pevcidcz family ; one authority ac- 

 counts for no less than ninety-five 



