Yellow Perch for fish eaters

[4onaside]

I've had it in my mind for a while that I was going to pursue some perch and eat same since they have a great reputation as a table fish. Well, this summer the perch came to me and I enjoyed several successful trips to a local lake. We had a mess to eat last evening, and, while they were good fish, in my family's opinion, they don't compare with Bluegills, crappie or small cats. I'll still pursue them, due to the relative newness for me of catching them. However, when I want a mess of the best fish to eat, I'll just go bream fishing!

 

[Football Hunter]

Yep,bream are really good

 

[Rowdy]

I'm with you on the bream....#1 in my book.
Saugers are supposed to be really good too, but I've never caught one big enough to keep.

 

[4onaside]

I'm with you on the bream....#1 in my book.
Saugers are supposed to be really good too, but I've never caught one big enough to keep.

I have eaten sauger on a number of occasions, and while very good, aren't my favorite. Of course, they are members of the perch family, even look a lot like yellow perch, body shape, dorsal fins, etc. So I suppose that they should be similar in taste, which, in my opinion they are.

 

[TnBob]

I did'nt know we had yellow perch in Tn. If they were any better than bluegill fillets I couldn't stand it.

 

[4onaside]

Apparently some good perch fisheries in SE Tennessee for years, and also some of the private lakes around Crossville. They have appeared gradually from East to West in the Tennessee River system, and some citizen stocking has occurred in the Beech River lakes in West Tennessee. And, as far as being better than bluegill fillets, IMO they ain't!

 

[catman529]

bluegills and cats are delicious. Never tried perch or crappie. Gonna try crappie soon as I can catch some clean ones (not from effluent lakes).

 

[4onaside]

bluegills and cats are delicious. Never tried perch or crappie. Gonna try crappie soon as I can catch some clean ones (not from effluent lakes).

Cat, crappie are right up there at the top, very mild flavor. However, bluegills are much more accessible to most of us,particularly to those of us who are bank fishermen either by choice(me) or by necessity , so they are the top eating fish for me. Perch are good, just not as good as I have read, compared to what I have always eaten.

 

[4onaside]

Not to mention that perch are are about as hard to clean as anything that I have ever tackled.

 

[Setterman]

I personally like walleye/perch/sauger over the others. However, to me it is really splitting hairs. The above mentioned are all great, but the 3 first ones I mentioned are my favorite fresh water fish.

Can't go wrong with any of the above, and certainly the bluegill, perch, crappie, and catfish are easier to get a mess of then the dam sauger/walleye.

 

[preds1]

Hard to go wrong with a pile of yellow perch on your plate.

 

[4onaside]

Hard to go wrong with a pile of yellow perch on your plate.

Like everything else in this world, I suppose its a matter of personal preference. However, I have enjoyed catching a "new" fish in numbers sufficient to eat without having to travel hundreds of miles to do so and will continue to try to "refine" my perch catching skills. Hint: for anyone who might be introduced to this fish, they love small minnows! And, they'll hit a #0 mepps spinner every now and then...frequently enough to make it a viable perch lure.

 

[RaschChronicles]

Ummm, how do you prepare bream?

Best regards,
Albert �Afghanus� Rasch
The Range Reviews: AGI Armorers Course AR15
ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!

 

[4onaside]

Ummm, how do you prepare bream?

Best regards,
Albert �Afghanus� Rasch
The Range Reviews: AGI Armorers Course AR15
ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!

It brings tears to my eyes,that I can't bring you a mess!!
My son who lives in the same town as me is now my official fish and game cook. And deep fried is the universal(at least in our part of the south) method. He fillets most of ours, although I like them whole also. He just puts them in a bag with meal, sometimes zacharins or such, to thoroughly cover the flesh and drops them in the grease. If you are interested in exactly what he uses in his batter(sometimes I think different brands, etc.),I'll post on here. Although, IMO the batter is not terribly important, because the flavor of the flesh is the bottom line.
Thanks Bud for doing what you do!

 

[eyeseeker]

Where exactly would one go to catch some perch here in TN ? As a transplanted northerner I miss the days of catching 20 or so perch and having a perch fry with the family !

 

[4onaside]

Where exactly would one go to catch some perch here in TN ? As a transplanted northerner I miss the days of catching 20 or so perch and having a perch fry with the family !

I have been interested for a while, and I had heard of some catches in Kentucky Lake, specifically around Big Sandy and Paris Landing. One guy on here kept telling me that he was catching them in a creek on his family farm, but would not tell me the exact location. I suppose he thought that I was going to break the lock of his gate and sneak onto his place. Either that or he was lying to me. At any rate, I found a "new" population in Beech Lake at Lexington. I say new because they mysteriously appeared in the lake within the last three years. I did not get serious about catching them until late June this summer, and did well until the heat became unbearable. I have not been in the past three or four weeks, even though its only 26 miles from my house. You might ask around about catches/populations in Kentucky lake, which would be much closer to your house than Beech. Good Luck.