perch

Perch

The European perch (Perca fluviatilis) is a species of perch found in Europe and Asia. In some areas it is known as the redfin perch or English perch, and it is often referred to by the shortform perch.

European perch are greenish with red pelvic and caudal fins. They have 5-9 dark vertical bars on their sides.

European perch size can vary greatly between bodies of water; in Australia the fish are sometimes much larger than in their native Europe. The perch can live for up to 22 years, and older perch are often much larger than average; the maximum recorded length is 20 inches (51 cm) and the largest recorded weight is 10.4 lbs (4.75 kg).

The perch spawns at the end of April or beginning of May, depositing it upon weeds, or the branches of trees or shrubs that have become immersed in the water; it does not come into condition again until July.

The baits for perch are, minnows, red, marsh, brandling or lob worms, shrimps and artificial lures. The tackle should be fine but strong, as with a fish bait pike may frequently be hooked. Perch, unlike fish of prey, are gregarious, and in the winter months, when the frosts and floods have destroyed and carried away the beds of weeds, they congregate together in the pools and eddies, and are then to be angled for with greatest success from 10 to 4 o'clock.

Because of their similar appearance and ability to cross-breed, the yellow perch has sometimes been classified as a subspecies of the European perch.However, it is unclear whether or not hybrids are viable, and most classifications treat the two fish as separate species.

At Llyn Y Gors specimen Perch have been caught up to the size of 4lb from both the Pleasure Lake and The Match Lake but good size Perch have also been caught using livebait Roach on The Old Carp Lake whilst Predator anglers try to tempt Pike. Perch are a predator fish which are happy to stay completely still for long periods of time and then attack its prey. Therefore natural baits such as Maggot, Lobworm or Roach can be classified as the most appropriate baits when fishing for Perch.