Now that it is open water and perch are spawning..

HINT: https://www.outdoorcanada.ca/Why-you-should...lease-big-fish/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/...81130210013.htm

This post has been edited by jigwhiz on Apr 14, 2023 - 01:11 pm

I read an article years ago about this subject, but it only consider or looked at walleye. I forget the actual numbers but it went something like this. a small walleye full of eggs will have lets say a pound of eggs, with 90% hatch rate based on age. so 0.9 of a pound of eggs hatch. Take a 10 pound girl, might have 3lb of eggs with a 60% hatch rate based on age. So you would get over 1.5lb of eggs hatching. So about 0.6 of a pound of eggs more. that almost the same as the smaller fish making it to hatching. How many eggs are in that 0.6lb I have no idea, but there got to be a lot. Moral of story the big girls are not as fertile, but still produce more in the long run. Since reading that I will try to throw all walleye back that are over 20". But in the end, if it legal in your area to keep a big fish then do what you wish.

I honestly don't have any scientific insight as i am not a fish biologist, I just go by my instincts and that tells me big girls have lot more eggs to lay (thus more chances of producing future generations). I also go by certain facts put out by experts on the field and the evidence shows that the more bigger fish are kept, the smaller are future generations. So, I personally believe that releasing the biggest girls with fat bellies is the way to go. We can keep them when they're not spawning but I am sure they won't look as big as they do with full bellies.

When fortunate enough I toss the big ones back and hopefully someone else will have the thrill of reeling in a big fish.

Bigger the better for panfish , less I have to fillet

I should clarify 13-14 inchers I will keep , I realize these are prime breeders but perch also grow fast so what’s better keeping 30-40 small perch or 10 big perch , getting the same amount of meat.

Not to argue with you, but I am pretty sure those 10 big perch full of eggs will produce a lot more than 30-40 perch for the future. I know it's easier to clean 10 large fish then 30-40 smaller ones but it is a question of convenience versus future bounty for me. I tend prefer the latter.

This post has been edited by jigwhiz on Apr 17, 2023 - 03:50 pm

Following many forums and fishing groups in Ontario for many years it seems to me that majority of perch fishermen like to keep 9-13” perch in summer, fall and winter but then certain number of the same people insist on releasing those breeders in Spring.

Now the question I have for those folks is as follows: you realize that those are the same female perch you’re keeping in other seasons that will become those breeders in Spring so why is then you’re not releasing all the perch in 9-13” size (which are pretty much ALL female perch) in the other times of year?

Am I missing something here? What about releasing mamas without eggs in other seasons?

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the science and during the year I usually take only a few big ones in 10-13” range for the pan fry and release the other big ones as I, firstly, don’t like to clean many perch and secondly, prefer smaller perch as much better tasting.

The lake is polluted with perch. I don't think you should be worrying That said, I'm all for the conservation of fish. I release 100% of my fish.

So, just to play devil’s advocate, consider this; it is said that larger perch feed on smaller perch and even their own eggs too. So by letting them spawn, then start keeping all the biggest ones post spawn, it could give the young a better chance to survive? not as many big ones around to eat them all up. Then the 30-40 smaller ones can thrive and get to a larger size to spawn a season than be caught and kept. Who knows ?

Not to argue with you, but I am pretty sure those 10 big perch full of eggs will produce a lot more than 30-40 perch for the future. I know it's easier to clean 10 large fish then 30-40 smaller ones but it is a question of convenience versus future bounty for me. I tend prefer the latter.

I think the point was that the 30-40 would grow to large mama size and produce 3-4 times as many eggs as the original 10 big mamas

I don't see mu difference in keeping females in January February March or April as whether eggs are tight or loose, we have taken them out of the spawning process


I guess if they were really close I would probably release them though and let them do their thing

I don't begrudge anyone for taking a legal limit of fish of any size.

For myself personally, I'd rather take 10-12" fish - releasing the bigger and smaller ones. I find that a 10" female has just as much meat as a 13" female. The difference is their stomachs are bulged out with eggs. Keeping a female in March vs. January doesn't impact the population any differently - her eggs are gone regardless of the calendar.

Many years ago (close to 30 now that I think about it) when I was in college, we were participating in a study on a lake in Harcourt Park. The lake originally had a brook trout population, but someone released perch in to the lake. The perch were so prolific, they out competed the brookies, and the population became so high, their growth was stunted. (this was established by aging the fish and comparing to other lakes with similar characteristics).

I believe that Simcoe has a healthy population of perch, however, it is important to maintain a balance between over-harvesting and reducing the population, and not enough harvest/mortality/predation etc. I have to admit, it is crazy to think of Lake Simcoe with an over-population of perch - they would be everywhere. LOL

Long story short, at the end of the day, I seldom keep more than 10 - 10-12" perch. I just don't have the attention span to fillet that many fish. LOL

Seems to me that female perch lose muscle mass when making eggs. Back when Erie central basin was on fire the fillets were noticeably thicker in July fish that had fed back up post spawn. The fillet size on big females full of eggs are disappointing for the size of the fish.

I’m assuming most people know but just wanted to add those 8 inchers have reached sexual maturity as well and will lay eggs. As far as a 10 incher having the same meat as a 13 incher that’s just not true sorry , a 10 incher caught full of eggs and double the weight of a 10 incher caught in July will be the same amount of meat though , we don’t eat the guts .. but length directly reflects the size of the fillets.

For people who say large females full of eggs are at the end of their life cycle and are not as productive as the smaller ones, I say this: I think male perch disagree....

Pay attention to the big school of males (of various sizes) that is formed around one big mama.

[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/nt-0JB_KdgM[/YOUTUBE]