Female Perch, Conservation practice

My take on this for what it's worth,
Those perch over 12" probably represent only about 10% or less of the population , granted they do produce more eggs than say a 7" fish , but those 6-9" fish represent 80% + of the population and of the thousands of perch I've caught all of the females of that slot carry eggs.

So my point is , the sheer numbers of the main spawn group is what keeps our perch population healthy and this is "NOT" the 12 " fish..

As said the MNR sets the limits based on studies and feedback, so , keep some larger fish if you like but don't overkill

Hey ; If you want more fish period ,pressure the powers to be to get off their collective asses and allow control of those dam cormorants Have you seen the pix of how many junior perch are found in one birds belly ?

Look for the ones with the cell phones..

Savage!

I leave the 13 & ups back in the water.

If it were crappie however, that'd be a different story lol !! DB,,, still waiting for the invite !

Everyone has to do their part to at least try to be as conscious as possible in regards to preserving our fisheries, so its great to see posts like this one.

Just goes to show that good sportsmanship is not always about numbers !


Great Post !

Conservation is always a good practice. If you go once a year then keep some fish, if you go every other day then limit your catch. If stocks get too low the MNR will have to impose rules to help fisheries recover, as they've done in the past on Simcoe.

Conservation all the way I try and get out a few times a week. The 1 and only reason I have a sports licence is for my 2 Whitties lol
My personal limit is 12 perch that's enough for me and I let most of the bigger pigs go . 9 to 11 inch are the better ones jumbos have a much harder skin.

Ps I like to eat them fresh not frozen . I eat perch and eggs for lunch after 90 percent of days I go. Rinse and right into the fry pan mmm. Maybe tomorrow morning I can get a few.

I've got a better idea, MNR sets the limits and sizes of possession and when necessary closes it. If you want to preach try religion instead.

In other words, if you play by the rule of law, then you will be fine (you will not be fined:-)

Another annual debate. 50 yeas of fishing Simcoe and still lots of jumbos around.

Do your own thing.

I've got a better idea, MNR sets the limits and sizes of possession and when necessary closes it. If you want to preach try religion instead.

In other words, if you play by the rule of law, then you will be fine (you will not be fined:-)

Another annual debate. 50 yeas of fishing Simcoe and still lots of jumbos around.

Do your own thing.

I think I poked a hornets nest. Please forgive me lol. Cheers all.

Well at least you got a lot of laughs.

Maybe I'll just have to start eating caviar lol.

There's a lot of roe in those 14 inchers...

Over 40 years of fishing Simcoe and the quality of Perch hasn’t changed much. Honestly there are more Perch in my opinion. As for the jumbos I keep some big Perch but I don’t fish them often. I like jumbos and do eat them over 13” on occasion but on those occasions I have not kept many.

Ethics are personal so asking people to be ethical means nothing really. What I see as ethical other see as rediculous and overly cautious or infiringing on their rights to choose within the provincial fishing regs. Some see my ethics as not cautious enough. Can’t win with an ethics debate.

as long as they are legal and open people will kill them even if they are not legal or open people will kill them maybe less but still killing. we just take kill and rape nothing here new or old. is it morally right to kill a pregnant female full of eggs the future of the fishery. probably not. but very few care, even this guy who asked politely to release the big females, got cut off at the knees and roasted, Dee dude, check if you are ready, i like well done. yup nothing has changed in the last 50 years on simcoe. except more people fishing and killing and soon i think you will see change lots of it. GL

It's not like the lake is commercially fished.

Yes the 14+ inch Perch have more eggs, but more of those eggs are infertile. Its the adolescent sized fish that are responsible for a majority of the reproduction in the lake.

I'd rather fillet five 14 inchers than twenty 9 inchers! But at the same time the best tasting pan fish are the ones that are pan sized!

as Mitch Headburg once said "i like to make the big ones late for something" and let these go, that said i go every other weekend from Jan to ice out and many days we dont keep anything as we just like to fish. This is my choice but somebody who only gets out a few times and wants to bring a nice perch dinner home, as long as you are within the regs its your rights and I will defend that, if they drop limits or bring in slots sizes thats cool too means they are doing something with my money.

Bigger the better !!!

less cleaning , more meat .