Hunting Washington Forum

Other Activities => Fishing => Topic started by: Threebyfour on February 01, 2009, 06:32:49 PM

Title: Western wa perch
Post by: Threebyfour on February 01, 2009, 06:32:49 PM: Seems like every time I catch a perch any more they aren't any more than six inches or so. There seems to be alot in the lakes I fish but no bigun's any more. Anybody got some insight? Depth, water temp? They are so good for eating but have to be at least 10 inches or so to get any fillets.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: rainshadow1 on February 01, 2009, 07:14:29 PM: Too many for the available forage. Keeps 'em small.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: ICEMAN on February 01, 2009, 07:42:39 PM: Threebyfour, I hear ya on the fish size gripe! My kids catch buckets of em' and I am stuck at the sink the next morning filleting them all out, mostly small ones!
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: NRA4LIFE on February 02, 2009, 02:38:55 PM: I fish for them in 2 places. North End of Lake Sammamish and the east side of Lake Washington, just south of the I90 bridge. Lake Sammamish, find 20 -25 of water with weeds and you'll find Perch. Heats up late in the summer into October. Lake WA is a little different. I fish that late summer/early fall. Usually can find them in 40-50 feet. Lake WA can be unbelievable if you can locate and park over a large school. Sammamish is a little bit more predictable. I took 150 home last summer in 3 trips on lake Samm, of them probably 10 or less were less than 10". They run a tad bigger on lake WA. I've been on Lake WA sometimes where I didn't throw back a single fish. Lake Samm you'll catch a lot of little ones too. If too many, then move. GOOD LUCK.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: prophet on February 02, 2009, 02:56:26 PM: I've had some pritty good luck catching nice size perch, for the westside my average would be 12" there not too long in size but vary fat in gerth. stevens and goodwin and cranbarry lake are good. but you got to work for it and you do run into small one's here and there. For the eastside would be 15"-20" and just last year hooked up with two fat 25"-27" perch i thought they were carp when i brought it to the boat. most of my perch are hooked while im bass or walleye fishing the eastside using texas rigged or jigging.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: M_59 on February 02, 2009, 03:02:41 PM: Quote from: prophet on February 02, 2009, 02:56:26 PM
I've had some pritty good luck catching nice size perch, for the westside my average would be 12" there not too long in size but vary fat in gerth. stevens and goodwin and cranbarry lake are good. but you got to work for it and you do run into small one's here and there. For the eastside would be 15"-20" and just last year hooked up with two fat 25"-27" perch i thought they were carp when i brought it to the boat. most of my perch are hooked while im bass or walleye fishing the eastside using texas rigged or jigging.
I think you are eating world record size perch :yike: or more than likely they are not perch but rather walleye.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: rougheye on February 02, 2009, 03:08:05 PM: Quote from: prophet on February 02, 2009, 02:56:26 PM
I've had some pritty good luck catching nice size perch, for the westside my average would be 12" there not too long in size but vary fat in gerth. stevens and goodwin and cranbarry lake are good. but you got to work for it and you do run into small one's here and there. For the eastside would be 15"-20" and just last year hooked up with two fat 25"-27" perch i thought they were carp when i brought it to the boat. most of my perch are hooked while im bass or walleye fishing the eastside using texas rigged or jigging.
:dunno: Was this supposed to be in the JOKES section ? Never heared of a 27" perch .
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: skybusterbo on February 02, 2009, 03:52:51 PM: Quote from: prophet on February 02, 2009, 02:56:26 PM
I've had some pritty good luck catching nice size perch, for the westside my average would be 12" there not too long in size but vary fat in gerth. stevens and goodwin and cranbarry lake are good. but you got to work for it and you do run into small one's here and there. For the eastside would be 15"-20" and just last year hooked up with two fat 25"-27" perch i thought they were carp when i brought it to the boat. most of my perch are hooked while im bass or walleye fishing the eastside using texas rigged or jigging.
Are you fishing around Hanford in the Columbia River? :chuckle:
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: cackle on February 02, 2009, 03:54:25 PM: Im thinkin he is catchin walleye
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: Threebyfour on February 02, 2009, 05:26:56 PM: Hey iceman it's a labor of love, and damn tasty at that. You might be right rainshadow, there are thousands of them at ant given time but they are all tiny, maybe depth is the issue, could be the larger ones are watchin the smaller ones from below.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: prophet on February 02, 2009, 06:52:11 PM: hahahaha i have slayed many walleye and i think the amount of time I've fished i would know the difference between the two. and I've eaten perch and they are tasty but all those big ones i have put back. i wish i wasn't at work or i would post the pics. but if you think this a joke you are wishful thinking. i think maybe if your catching small ones all the time you should look in to a different tactic for targeting bigger fish. use small stuff catch small fish use bigger stuff catch bigger fish. but that's just me. i knew if i posted that i would be reading about it later. so thanx fellow outdoorsmen love the feed back. 8)
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: ICEMAN on February 02, 2009, 07:26:00 PM: 27" is a lot of perch! How much do you estimate it weighed?

The state record perch only a mere..... 2.75lbs.

yellow perch
Perca flavescens
2.75 lbs
Larry Benthien
Snelson's Slough, Skagit Co. June 22, 1969
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: Curly on February 02, 2009, 07:35:13 PM: I caught a perch in Offut Lake about 22 years ago that showed close to 3lbs on my digital scale. If I remember right it was close to 20". Caught it on a 4" grub while bass fishing. Sure did taste good. :drool:

A 27"er would have to go over 4 lbs I bet.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: MuleySniper on February 02, 2009, 07:41:19 PM: I wasn't going to open my mouth about 17-18" perch but since you guys brought it up, my buddies and I have caught tons of them around that size. Real tasty and a blast to catch on my ultra lite 3'6" Loomis rig. We have a honey hole ;)
MS
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: Fishpimp on February 02, 2009, 08:28:46 PM: i have caught a ton of huge perch{14-17"-ish range} in lake washington while drop shotting for smallies. they nail the 4"roboworms. i see guys targeting them and they seem to do well.

i would like to see a picture of a 27" perch. i know a 25" largemouth is 10+lbs and if a 20" perch is 3 pounds{which sounds about right} then a 27" perch would be a world record i bet.
here is a link to a record perch that is only 16.5 inches long and 3.5lbs. a 27" perch is definately a world record , it should blow the record clean out of the water.

www.dnr.state.md.us/dnrnews/pressrelease2006/031606a.html
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: backyard bucks on February 02, 2009, 09:40:16 PM: 27 inch perch????

put down that pipe man!!! :chuckle: :chuckle:
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: MuleySniper on February 02, 2009, 09:42:52 PM: Maybe a 27" saltwater perch :dunno: :dunno: Get your spear guns out :chuckle:
MS
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: ICEMAN on February 02, 2009, 09:48:48 PM: Was that (2) 7" perch maybe?

Sorry. :sas:
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: backyard bucks on February 03, 2009, 08:51:00 AM: now that was funny :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle:
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: Threebyfour on February 04, 2009, 04:30:12 PM: They had digital scales 22 years ago?!
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: Fishpimp on February 04, 2009, 07:58:59 PM: i am still waiting to see the picture of the 27"er. he said he had one.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: M_59 on February 04, 2009, 10:19:15 PM: I think he's waiting for Backwoods_Boy Graphics to get the Photoshop editing done.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: huntnphool on February 04, 2009, 11:12:56 PM: Quote from: Threebyfour on February 04, 2009, 04:30:12 PM
They had digital scales 22 years ago?!

When I read that yesterday I was wondering the same thing :dunno:
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: Curly on February 05, 2009, 06:15:19 AM: Yes there were digital scales.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: NRA4LIFE on February 05, 2009, 10:11:46 AM: I have probably caught 5000 perch in my life EASY. The biggest I ever seen came out of my Grandpa's pond when I was young, where he fed them daily. We pulled some 2.5 lb + fish out of there. Lengthwise, I'm guessing the biggest we ever got was right around 16". Very fat fish.

I retract. A little research and I see the state record fish from Michigan, at 3#, 12 oz was 21". I doubt seriously there's a fish much longer than that.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: DOUBLELUNG on February 05, 2009, 10:39:11 AM: I have caught a 19" yellow perch on a 7" rapala while fishing for northern pike, and a 17" yellow perch on a white spinnerbait while fishing for largemouth bass. Neither was weighed, I'm pretty confident the 19" fish was less than 3lbs (over 2 for sure), the 17" fish was a skinny post-spawner and maybe 1.5lbs. Other than those two, I don't think I've caught a yellow perch over 11".
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: Fishhunt223 on February 05, 2009, 07:09:20 PM: Quote from: remington300mag on February 05, 2009, 12:20:20 PM
These are the size perch we catch out of the Rock Island ponds.....Just east of East Wenatchee!
That doesnt look like rock island ponds...
Travis
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: Threebyfour on February 05, 2009, 07:20:35 PM: Those are some beastly perch for sure! I have to say I've never seen fish like that. Caught some around 14 inches in a lake in nw. mont. called savage lake, but fish like that are far and few between.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: MuleySniper on February 05, 2009, 07:22:21 PM: Yeah 300, that one is a FATTY!. You could feed a family dinner off that one perch. What time of the year are you fishing that area?
MS
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: Fishpimp on February 05, 2009, 08:50:13 PM: slap my a$$ and call me nancy! that is a huge perch 300 :o waht a monster. looks like he has a glan problem :chuckle:
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: ICEMAN on February 05, 2009, 08:51:33 PM: No kidding, where did you actually catch that, the hanford cooling tower?
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: rasbo on February 05, 2009, 08:55:10 PM: thats a big one forsure,I used to catch some decent ones in tanawax 10 to 12 inches
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: rainshadow1 on February 05, 2009, 09:04:35 PM: Good grief! I get my kids into them biting one every 5 or 10 seconds, but that one could eat 10 of these ones without looking full!
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: Ridgeratt on February 05, 2009, 09:14:28 PM: my guess was a photo shop "Bugle Bass"
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: MuleySniper on February 05, 2009, 10:00:27 PM: So that wasn't a picture of you in that photo :dunno: :dunno: Damn, I was thinking you were ugly. :chuckle:
MS
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: FrankDown on February 16, 2009, 03:50:45 PM: I read that the lake Washington percha re full of mercury and other toxins. I go to the dock and catch them with my son there, but we toss them.
Title: Re: Western wa perch
Post by: big ed on March 01, 2009, 04:28:50 PM: Any place north of Everett to catch any perch that worth going to .