Yellow perch
Perca flavescens
- When
- Sep–Jun — January, February, March, April, May, June, September, October, November, December. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it holds
- Weed edges, docks and sandy flats, always in schools.
- How to know it
- Golden-yellow with six to eight dark vertical bars and orange lower fins.
- What to know
- The best-eating panfish in the north and the mainstay of the ice season. Find one, find fifty.
- The tactic
- Small jig tipped with a minnow head, right on the bottom.
Seasons, size limits and catch limits change every year and differ by water body. Check the current regulations for your province or state before you fish.
Found in these regions
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Also active in September
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Sander vitreus
Olive-gold flanks, a spiny first dorsal, and the big glassy eye that gives it the name and lets it hunt in low light.
Where and how to catch it →
FishMay–OctSmallmouth bass
Micropterus dolomieu
Bronze-brown with vertical bars, red eye, and a jaw that ends level with the eye — not past it.
Where and how to catch it →Photo: Joshua Johnson · CC BY 4.0
FishJan–JunNorthern pike
Esox lucius
Long torpedo body, duck-like jaws, light bean-shaped spots on a dark green flank.
Where and how to catch it →Photo: Daughter Dad · CC BY 4.0
