Yellow Perch

Many people consider perch to be the best eating fish in freshwater.   I tend to agree with them.   They certainly fillet up easily and really can’t be prepared wrong for the table.   All 11 of the Finger Lakes have perch.   All the lakes I guide have good to excellent perch fishing.   Fish in the 14” to 15” range are taken in nearly all the lakes, and even bigger fish turn up every year.  Cayuga’s fish run on the smaller side – usually averaging around 7” or 8”, though this lake has a fair number of bigger fish.   Cayuga has a TON of perch, and an 8” fish is a “keeper” over here.   Owasco is very similar to Cayuga – lots of 8” fish, and a few bigger ones. Skaneateles Lake has a good mix of fish – abundant schools of small perch, yet many big “jacks” as well.   Seneca Lake gets all the hype and rightfully so – the lake is a perch factory, with fish averaging 10” long, and plenty of fish 12” and above.   Keuka has a lot of nice fish and so does Canandaigua.  

For my guiding I consider perch a bonus fish.   I don’t guide for them specifically, though we do catch plenty in Skaneateles Lake from October through June – and they can be taken throughout the summer.    Perch fishing on Seneca Lake can be “combat fishing” with successful anglers being surrounded by boats.   These fish can be caught in water as shallow as 4’ to 5’ and as deep as 80’ or more. 

Perch populations appear to be going up in all the Finger Lakes, due mainly to the increase in weedgrowth due to more light penetration, courtesy of the zebra/quagga mussels.