How many AB ice fishermen release big perch?
 

For far too long, anytime a lake produces decent perch fishing (for 8+" fish) it typically gets hammered. The CIA doesn't keep secrets as well as AB fisherman when it comes to perch honey holes.

No wonder; we all know that for decades, perch lakes have been on a steady rotation of pressure, depending how hot they are?

Here's an idea:

Release the big perch. Totally unheard of, but I like the ideas presented here in this video clip:

https://www.facebook.com/UncutAnglin...4028342970675/

If you don't have FB, here's the entire episode on Youtube, the clip I'm speaking of starts at 19:37:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDu8eHQ4zjw


This is an issue that often is below the radar; what are the appropriate limits for our panfish species like perch, should we have a slot size or maximum size (only fish under 25cm can be kept, for example) or should we just let anglers self manage and hope that some big fish are being released? I would say far too few.

If the meeting in Lac La Biche goes in the way of convincing the ESRD to keep a few walleye, then great, but the issue of their forage base needs to go hand in hand.

This province is decades behind in actually using specific measures to manage specific populations. Many jurisdictions use slot sizes; it was tried and failed here due to low angler compliance. Perhaps it's time to re-visit, with this province having so little fish bearing lakes and 4+million people.

Anyways, to circle back, how many of you would release a 12-13+ inch perch?

Smitty

I release all the big perch I catch, but then again I release any big fish period, no matter what species. Pretty easy formula to follow if you like fishing for sport. Pictures are the best bragging rights and it feels good to release large fish to reproduce.

C&R is the only way to fish today. Yes, keep the odd one if in fact they are good eating but as a rule put them back to continue growing.

Nope. Right into the frying pan. Perch are for eating trout are for releasing. I'm not out there 3 days a week trying to get my 'quota' though......

A lot of the most popular lakes historically winter kill every 7-10 years. Think about that.

Big perch caught in deeper water are often "goners" regardless of whether or not they're released. I release EVERY trophy fish I catch, assuming I deem that it will survive the release.

I have always have kept the larger perch.I do not understand how the perch populations get depleted by sportfishing.With most lakes having a limit of 5 you would have to have every angler on the lake during the ice season take home their limit everytime they went out to put a dent in the population.I am not knowledged in fish biology so I would gladly like to hear from people that have scientific proof that fishing for perch has been proven to dessimate fish stocks.I have seen proof myself that shallower lakes winterkill fish and this makes sense that populations take a beating because of that.Another question I have is why a lake such as Wizard lake that has thousands of little perch and a very healthy pike population that there are no larger perch to be found regularly?

Yummy !
 

A friend and myself have caught and eaten 45 12 inch plus perch so far this year
We have a secret lake with a secret spot and a secret hook tipped with mealworms .... Oooppps that was the last secret
We Don't keep anything under "11" our best was "15"
We have realeased over 300 perch from "8-14" the last few years
Yesterday we enjoyed keeping another 10 that were all footlongs caught 15 released 5 from 9-12 inch 2 hrs fishing
Funny thing is lake X is a short ride away where 30 -50 trucks every weekend are filling buckets with micro perch 4-7 inch fish
We have worked hard and long to figure out the puzzle and now enjoy jumbos every Sunday :)
Our self imposed limits and perch management system seems to be working for many years and promises to continue producing qaulity perching for years to come
I Caught my first 12 inch perch ice fishing 40 plus yrs ago and have eaten thousands since !

No way I throw back a 12-13 incher unless I got my limit already. If I was catching real monsters ~ 15 inches then I would probably release most of them(would like a couple for the wall though) unless I knew the lake was going to be fished out anyways.

Limit is 15 on many lakes and 10 on a lot of others. 5 is what it probably should be everywhere to help a lot of these lakes.

Fishing pressure most definitely ruins perch fisheries here in AB. It has happened on many lakes. Word started leaking out 3 years ago that Crimson had lots of nice perch. The next year it got posted on here, FB, newspapers etc and within months you couldn't catch a decent perch anymore... That is just one of the more recent and obvious lakes but there are many more that have been decimated due to fishing pressure. That is why no one with half a brain posts their perch fishing spots because anyone that has been in the game for a while has seen some of their lakes get wiped out already.

In regards to Wizard, it seems perch seem to thrive on certain lakes and struggle on others. I don't know if Wizard was ever good but the fishing pressure and pike population would keep their numbers down as almost every half decent perch caught at Wizard is going home for supper...

Sorry guys the big perch I catch represent way too much cost, effort and time to toss back for me. I don't fish them deep, I don't keep cycling thru, if I get my limit I shut er down and leave them be. Good with a fillet knife and the precious few ounces of meat certainly don't get wasted. It's a personal thing I guess. As I have said before there is a certain group of big loner perch that just don't bite and when I get the odd one sheez mine.

I would love to see some pics of those monster perch

I generally keep mine. That's what I am targeting if a fish fry is on the agenda. I have released many but I have eaten lots too. Some of the finest freshwater table fare a man can get bar none. To be honest I find the filet is better off a 10" or 10-1/2" male than it is off 12" or 13" female. Perch are a very prolific species. Sometimes down but never quite out. They come back even when all seems lost. A winterkill or summer kill leads to some down years and then bam they'rrrrre baaaack! They have a short life expectancy compared to a Northern or Walleye. A real good fry recruitment year or 2 can lead to an eventual gold rush of keeper size Jumbos in just a few years. Knowing your lake and where it is in the cycle is key. Maturing from about age 5 to 8 you get a short window to harvest some good ones, they don't stick around much older than this. Then it seems like the lake is fished out but it's probably not. It's just in between cycles waiting for another big injection of a year class or two to grow large together and begin the next boom. Many lakes are examples of this type of ebb and flow in fishability and yet they all may get their moment to shine again at some point unless habitat degradation is a key factor. When that happens such as very low water levels or extreme oxygen depletion for example it may be time to move on to greener or golder pastures as it were. That's not to say that lake will be devoid forever. Put it on the five year calendar and check back later. You may be rewarded. A 15" Perch is pretty well getting near to the end of its life time. Can't argue with those who also admire the sight of them so much you are compelled to slip her back down the hole in favour of keeping that next 11 incher. I have before for good karma a number of times. Also keep in mind that Perch by their very nature are food to everything else that lives above and below the waterline. And for that reason alone I have no problem keeping some for the table. They are out there and not quite as elusive as some may think but you must go to school in order to learn their idiosyncrasies. Anybody can catch small Perch, but it takes some skill and a whole,lot of experience to consistently catch the big ones. They are different from lake to lake, month to month, week to week etc. Crack the code and things come easier but they remain highly unpredictable which makes them so much fun to target. Sometimes it's like they are jumping out of the hole and a day later they have lock jaw!

Not many perch grow that big even in the best lakes. Preserving the quality genetics is why a person should throw these fish back, even if they only reproduce 1-2 more years then that leads to a lot more offspring with the same good genetics.

Well said perchbuster,
So many factors that dictate the natural ebbs and flow of a lake s cycle from natural to the human impacts
I've had the pleasure and pain to been a part of the bonanza days of the past hunting monster orange fins in the smallest puddles in northern Alberta to the stunted mega perch factories like Hastings,nakamun,cross,wizard,coal,banana,isle,syl van gull,etc
Perch are resilient have high reproductive rates taste great and simply put they are prey fish !

Just a note to all the "deep water" guys , The big perch I target and catch are in 10 ft or less , this year we're crushing them in 6 ft
The biggest perch seem to run in small schools 4-6-8 or less and tend to be the shallowest
These mature perch are predators in their own right ... In the shallow water
they don't run and hide like little perch in deep holes or in large schools 20-30+
I've been fishing them on the shallow side my whole life and have a perch belly myself to prove it !
(Pics avail pm me)

Beautiful fish Bigspiker!!! Great Jumbos!

I don't believe in catch and release. I would sooner close a lake for a year or 2 and let nature do it's thing.

If I am camping a shore lunch is appreciated but other than that it is catch, picture and release.

Unless I'm fishing a stocked pond, I release all the big fish I catch.

The big ones come home for supper unless I have my limit. All the small ones go back though. Hard time getting my youngest boy to throw anything back lol.

Alberta is hurtin for big fish of any species compared to Sask Man Ont. We only have 800 lakes .My father inlaw was raised near Lac la Nonne and he said the farmers would net perch in the creek until their wagons were full,THEN THEY FED THEM TO THE PIGS!!!

I believe that number is 600.:)

Depends on where you go for big fish and if you are expecting big fish on every other cast. Many places have them, you just have to hunt for them.

always C&R have not keeped a fish in years

Nice work! I like what you said about finding a gem nearby poorer choices. I wish you continued success, and, that your inbox is not overwhelmed with PMs :lol:

No releasing here staight into the pan.:sHa_shakeshout: and if anyone wants to release perch go ahead it's your choice

I will never understand people's grand desire to keep fish. I'm total CnR...fun is in the catching, not the keeping. Also "Let 'em go, let 'em grow". With perch, specifically, it's such a pain in the ass to fillet...they're so small....makes zero sense to me.

If someone was wanting a shore lunch and kept one or two 18" 'eyes....that's not awful I guess.

Alberta logic, get what you can while you can, it'll be gone some day better get my share.

Catch, Photo, Release!

I tend to believe that big fish, Jumbo's included, got that way because they have been able to avoid capture and/or predation. Or they have been caught before and perhaps learned from the experience. I have studied a thousand Jumbos on the camera and the largest specimens are often the wariest, not even stopping to look at my presentation or when they do stop they are ultra cautious and often times what happens is a smaller fish that probably hasn't been caught before will rush in and grab the hook away. As for genetics, I believe they all have those inherent genes already inside them that will allow them to grow to trophy class if all habitat and forage conditions are conducive to their success. The big ones are very old and wise and thus a lot harder to catch most days. When all the stars align you can catch them but like most fish species majority of the time they are in a neutral to negative mood and thus become very selective. A fish only has 2 goals in life, 1) to survive, 2) to reproduce as often and as prolifically as possible. All fish of the same species, in the same system posess like genetics. Habitat, predation factors and forage availability play a much bigger role in their ability to grow to trophy status. Whether they can grow to 15 inches or not is simply a question of goal #1. Because of these reasons I strongly believe the best Perch lakes with trophy potential all have certain characteristics in common. Either the waterbody is so large and diverse that they have ample opportunity to avoid predation and live out the majority of their lives in relative seclusion or secondly as is the case in smaller bodies of water there will be a weak Walleye population if any at all and a stunted hammer handle population. That is to say a lack of large Pike and virtually no Walleye. They do very well in this situation. There are other ingredients to add to this as well that I have learned over the years such as lakes with sand bottom etc but put them all together and you have the makings of a good Perch lake.

Hmmm I think I'll pass on commenting on this one Smitty. I have said enough on the FBook page....lol.... but I agreed with you there ( if that was you) and I agree here!!

Lot of self righteous folk on here it seems. If you dint understand why people keep perch then you must not enjoy eating fish. As long as people aren't being wasteful and following the law then I see no problem with it. All the catch and release fishermen at hypocrites at best. You are catching fish and killing a portion of them even if by accident for no reason other than your own pleasure.