Michigan’s Best Yellow Perch Waters

One of the most frequently caught fish in Michigan – and certainly among the top choices as table fare – yellow perch are widespread denizens of both the Great Lakes and inland waters. Perch travel in schools, sometimes very large numbers, and can often be caught all day long without ever moving the boat.

During the summer months, perch are typically associated with deep water, sometimes as deep as 100 feet in the Great Lakes, and are usually caught on the bottom. They are typically associated with rocky or rubble bottoms in deep water, but may be found in and around weed beds in shallower lakes. A typical perch rig for fishing deep water consists of a sinker on the end of the line with a pair of hooks (No. 6 or 8) tied on leaders about a foot apart just above the sinker. All manner of live bait – minnows, wigglers, earthworms, leeches, wax worms or small crayfish – will produce. Perch typically bite all day long, though not at night, and are delicate biters, so watching the rod tip is in order. Typically not targeted by anglers with artificial lures, they are often taken incidentally on small spinners, jigs or plugs intended for other targets.

Perch spawn in the spring, moving into shallower water – sometimes only a few feet deep – and can be caught from piers, breakwalls and in cuts and canals and rivers off of the Great Lakes. Perch are popular with ice fishermen and can be caught at a wide range of depths, often quite shallow toward the end of ice-fishing season. Small tear drops tipped with insect larva (spikes, mousies or wax worms) or plain hooks with minnows are preferred ice-fishing baits.

Although perch tend to run small, with 7 or 8-inch fish considered keepers in many waters, they are capable of reaching twice that length. Good fishing for perch can be found out of numerous Lake Michigan ports, the Les Cheneaux Islands area of northern Lake Huron, Saginaw Bay, Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. Inland lakes with notable perch fisheries include Gogebic, Independence, Burt, Hubbard, Crystal, Higgins and Elk.

Yellow Perch Better Fishing Waters   Alcona County Alger County Alpena County Allegan County Antrim County Arenac County Baraga County Barry County Bay County Benzie County Berrien County Branch County Calhoun County Cass County Charlevoix County Cheboygan County Chippewa County Clare County Clinton County Crawford County Delta County Dickinson County Eaton County Emmet County Genesee County Gladwin County Gogebic County Grand Traverse County Hillsdale County Houghton County Huron County Ingham County Ionia County Iosco County Iron County Isabella County Jackson County Kalamazoo County Kalkaska County Kent County Keweenaw County Lake County Lapeer County Leelanau County Lenawee County Livingston County Luce County  Mackinac County Macomb County  Manistee County Marquette County Mason County Mecosta County  Menominee County Midland County Missaukee County Monroe County Montcalm County  Montmorency County Muskegon County Newaygo County Oakland County Oceana County Ogemaw County  Ontonagon County Osceola County  Oscoda County Otsego County Ottawa County  Presque Isle County Roscommon County Sanilac County St. Clair County Schoolcraft County Shiawassee County St. Joseph County Tuscola County  VanBuren County

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