THE PERCH FAMILY
(_Percidæ_)
Most of the species belonging to this family are the dwarf perches, the
beautiful little darters of the clear streams. The only genera of
importance as game-fishes are _Stizostedion_, the pike-perches, and
_Perca_, the yellow-perch. They are characterized by an elongate, nearly
round body; small, rough, and adherent scales; rather large mouth with
sharp teeth; spines on opercle, and preopercle serrate; branchiostegals
six or seven; two dorsal fins, the first composed of spines, the second
of soft rays; the anal fin with two spines.
GENUS STIZOSTEDION
_Stizostedion vitreum._ The Pike-perch. Body elongate; back
somewhat elevated; head 4; depth 5; eye 4; D. XIV-20; A. II,
12; scales 10-125-25; head and cheeks sparsely scaled; canine
teeth on jaws and palatines; opercle with small spines; pyloric
coeca 3.
_Stizostedion canadense._ The Sauger. Body elongate and
spindle-shaped; head 3-1/2; depth 4-1/2; eye 5; D. XIII-18; A.
II, 12; scales 9-100-27; head and cheeks scaly; spines on opercle;
head depressed and pointed; pyloric coeca 5 to 7.
GENUS PERCA
_Perca flavescens._ The Yellow-perch. Body oblong, somewhat
compressed, the back elevated; head 3-1/4; depth 3-1/4; eye 5;
D. XIV-15; A. II, 7; scales 6-75-17; top of head rough; profile
convex from dorsal to occiput, thence concave to snout, which
projects; cheeks scaly; opercles nearly naked; preopercle and
shoulder girdle serrated; teeth in villiform bands;
branchiostegals 7; scales strongly ctenoid.
THE PIKE-PERCH
(_Stizostedion vitreum_)
The pike-perch or wall-eye was first described by Dr. Mitchill in 1818,
from Cayuga Lake, New York. He named it _vitrea_ in allusion to its
large vitreous or glassy eye. It would have been indeed fortunate if the
name glass-eye or wall-eye, with or without the suffix perch, had been
adopted; for this fine fish is a true perch, with nothing "pike-like" in
form or habits, except its large mouth and canine teeth, and nothing
"salmon-like" except its trimly-shaped body. But these fancied
resemblances have caused it to be called in various localities wall-eyed
pike, yellow pike, blue pike, glass-eyed pike, salmon, and jack salmon.
It is also known in Canada as dorè and okow, and among the commercial
fishermen as "pickerel." However, the names pike-perch and wall-eyed
pike have been rather universally adopted, and it will probably be
always known by these names. Pike-perch is the Anglicized form of
_Lucioperca_, the Latin name of the genus in Europe.
It is abundant in Canada and the Great Lake region, and fairly abundant
in the upper Mississippi River and its tributaries, and especially in
Lake Pepin. It is found also in the lake region of northern Minnesota,
and in the lakes and streams of Wisconsin and Iowa. It is not uncommon
in the upper Ohio River and tributaries, south to Tennessee. On the
Atlantic slope it is more rarely found from Pennsylvania to Georgia,
where it often exists in brackish water. I have taken it in my boyhood
days at Ferry Bar, a point on the Patapsco River, near Baltimore.
Maryland. Its range is being constantly extended by transplantation. The
pike-perch is a very trimly-built and shapely fish. Its body is rather
slender, not much compressed. The head is well shaped, neither too large
nor too small, with a large mouth well filled with teeth, some quite
long and sharp. The eye is very large and glassy. Like all the perches
it has two dorsal fins, well separated; the caudal fin is forked. The
scales are small and rough. The edge of the cheek-bone is toothed or
serrated, and the edge of the gill-cover has one or more small spines.
The color varies considerably in different localities, and even in the
same waters. The usual color is olive, or greenish brown, mottled with
brassy or yellowish blotches forming oblique but indistinct lines, or
vermicular markings. The head is similarly colored and marked; the lower
jaw is reddish; the belly and lower fins pinkish or yellowish; the first
dorsal fin is not much marked, but has a large black blotch on its
posterior border; the second dorsal fin is mottled with olive, brown,
and yellow; the caudal fin is likewise mottled, with the tip of the
lower lobe white or light colored.
The pike-perch frequents waters of good depth, only entering the shallow
portions of streams and lakes at spawning time, and at night when
feeding. It prefers a bottom of rock or gravel in clear and cool water,
and loves to lie in the deep pools at the foot of riffles, or at the
entrance of streams; or where the current is strong and deep near
mill-dams and under sunken logs, or shelving rocks and banks, and about
the timbers of bridges in deep water. It is nocturnal in its habits,
for which it is well fitted by its large and prominent eye, and seeks
its prey, which consists mostly of small fishes, in shallow water.
It spawns in the spring, and in lakes usually resorts to its spawning
grounds in the winter, where it is caught through the ice in large
numbers in certain localities, notably in Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie, and
in Lake Pepin and other northern lakes. It spawns in sand or gravel in
shallow water. Its eggs are small, twelve to an inch, and average fifty
thousand to a female. After spawning it retires to deeper water, and in
summer locates in the deepest pools. During the spring freshets it
sometimes ascends smaller streams in its search for food. Its usual
weight does not exceed three or four pounds, though it often grows much
larger, from ten to twenty pounds. I have seen preserved heads of fish
that must have weighed thirty or forty pounds, which had been caught in
Kentucky--in Tygert Creek and Kentucky River. It is highly prized as a
food-fish, its flesh being white, firm, and flaky, and of an excellent
flavor. It is a commercial fish of much importance, especially on Lake
Erie, from whence it is shipped in large numbers to the city markets,
where it always commands a ready sale, being in great demand during the
Lenten season.
The pike-perch is a good game-fish, taking live bait eagerly, and rising
pretty well to the fly. When hooked it is a vigorous fighter, pulling
strongly and lustily. It does not exhibit much dash or take line
rapidly, but swims away rather slowly, but at the same time is
constantly tugging and jerking on the line in such a manner as to
require careful handling with light tackle. Ordinary black-bass rods and
tackle are well suited for the pike-perch up to six or eight pounds,
either for bait-fishing or fly-fishing. Where they are found in
considerable numbers, and especially on lakes where pickerel or pike
abound, gimp snells should be used instead of gut snells to withstand
their sharp teeth; otherwise the tackle may be the same as recommended
for black-bass fishing. The best bait is a live minnow, though crawfish
are successfully used. On lakes it should be fished for in comparatively
deep water, over pebbly or rocky bottom. On streams the likely places
are in deep and swift water, at the foot of rapids, or on a rocky lee
shore with a brisk wind, where it congregates in search of minnows that
are rendered almost helpless by the churning water.
Owing to its nocturnal habits, the hours from about sunset until dark
are the most favorable. Night fishing is also quite successful should
any one care for it. As a matter of experiment I fished Pewaukee Lake,
in Wisconsin, one moonlit evening in summer, many years ago, in company
with three other anglers, there being two to a boat. In a few hours
twenty-two were landed to each boat, weighing from three to four pounds
each. This was my only experience in fishing for pike-perch at night,
but I have known many others to practise it very successfully.
Fly-fishing is most successful from about sundown until dark, or later,
and on cloudy days also during the afternoon. Two flies on a four-foot
leader may be used, one of which should be a light-colored one, as the
coachman, or white miller; the other may be any of the hackles or the
stone fly, oriole, gray drake, polka, professor, or Montreal. The same
instructions concerning fly-fishing for black-bass may be profitably
followed for the pike-perch, allowing the flies to sink two or three
feet after each cast, though it is a more uncertain fish to locate,
being much given to roaming in its search for food at different
seasons.
Years ago I had fine sport on several occasions, about sundown,
fly-fishing for pike-perch from the bridge over Neenah channel, the
outlet of Lake Winnebago, in Wisconsin. It was really the best fishing I
have ever had for this fish. All the conditions seemed to be just right,
and they responded eagerly to the coachman and oriole at first, but at
the approach of dusk they preferred the dusty miller and gray hackle.
The fish averaged three pounds, and in the swift water were quite gamy.
I have been very successful, on many occasions, fly-fishing on the
Muskingum River, in Ohio, fishing just below the dams late in the
afternoon; and also about the rocky tow-heads on the upper Ohio
River,--the fish, however, averaging only about a pound. But taking
everything into consideration, the character of the stream and its
surroundings, I think I have had the most enjoyable experience with the
pike-perch, both in fly-fishing and bait-fishing, on Rock River,
Wisconsin, in the southern part of the state. It is a beautiful, rocky
river in places, an ideal stream for wading. The fish also were of good
size, running up to five or six pounds.
In fishing for pike-perch in different parts of the country I have
noticed its variableness of coloration, which might be inferred from
some of its names, as gray pike, yellow pike, blue pike, white salmon,
etc. As I remember them, those caught in brackish water in Maryland were
quite greenish, with silvery reflections and with dark markings. On Lake
Erie the coloration varies somewhat with age, the younger ones being
known as blue pike, the mature fish as yellow pike, and the oldest and
largest as gray pike. On the rivers of the Middle West that are subject
to periods of high and muddy water they are much paler. On the many
pine-fringed lakes in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota the variation in
color is quite apparent, both as to the ground color and markings. The
older fish are very dark and dull on the back, and the younger ones much
brighter.
THE SAUGER
(_Stizostedion canadense_)
The sauger was first described by C.H. Smith, in 1834, who named it
_canadensis_, from having collected his type specimens in Canada.
It is also known as jack, sand-pike, gray-pike, and rattlesnake pike. It
is closely related to the pike-perch, though smaller and more slender,
with a more pointed head and smaller eye. It is distributed through the
Great Lake region and in the upper portions of the Missouri,
Mississippi, and Ohio rivers. It grows to a length of twelve to fifteen
inches. Its color is paler than the pike-perch, grayish above, with
brassy sides, which are marked by several blackish blotches or patches,
hence "rattlesnake pike."
It is not nearly so good a food-fish as the pike-perch, and is not of
much importance as a game-fish. It may be fished for with the same
tackle as that recommended for the calico-bass or crappie, in the same
situations mentioned for the pike-perch. I have taken it with a gaudy
fly on the Ohio and Muskingum rivers, in Ohio, and in the Big Sandy and
Tygert Creek, in Kentucky; also by still-fishing and trolling on Lake
Erie about the Bass Islands. The meaning or etymology of the name
"sauger" is unknown.
THE YELLOW-PERCH
(_Perca flavescens_)
The yellow-perch was first described by Dr. Mitchill in 1814, from the
vicinity of New York. He named it _flavescens_, "yellowish," owing to
its coloration. It is closely allied to the perch of Europe. It is
commonly known as perch or yellow-perch, also as ringed-perch and
raccoon-perch. It is abundant in the Great Lake region and in coastwise
streams of the Atlantic slope from Nova Scotia to North Carolina. It is
also common in some of the tributaries of the upper Mississippi River
and in certain lakes in northern Indiana. It is a handsome fish, well
proportioned, and of a lively disposition. It has a shapely body, with a
depth of about one-third of its length, somewhat compressed, and with an
arching back. The mouth is moderate in size, with bands of small,
bristlelike teeth, but no canines, and has a projecting snout. The head
is not quite one-third of the length of the body. Its back is dark
olive, sides bright golden yellow, belly pale or pinkish, with half a
dozen or more broad, dark, vertical bars. The lower fins are bright red
or orange. While the coloration varies somewhat in different situations
it is always brilliant, rendering it one of the handsomest fishes among
the fresh-water species.
The yellow-perch is gregarious, always in schools, and the fish of a
school will be about of a uniform size, be that great or small. It
frequents waters of a moderate depth in streams or lakes or ponds. In
streams, early in the spring, it frequently resorts to the edge or foot
of riffles, when feeding, but later prefers the deeper water under
mill-dams and about the submerged timbers of bridges, and the still
water under hollow banks, or in the eddies of old logs, rocks, etc. It
is averse to a muddy bottom in fresh water, but along the eastern coast
it is often found on the weedy shoals of shallow bays in brackish water.
In my boyhood days it was a prime favorite with myself and companions.
We sought it on the mud-flats, among the water-plants, of the Patapsco
River, near Baltimore. It was there known as "yellow Ned," and was
considered a good pan-fish.
In Lake Michigan, after leaving its winter quarters in the spring, it
fairly swarms about the piers and wharves of Chicago and other towns,
where it is caught by thousands by men, women, and children with
hand-lines, rods, and dip-nets. It is a very predaceous fish and feeds
principally on small minnows and the young of other fishes, also on
crawfish, tadpoles, small frogs, insects, etc. In large waters it grows
to a pound or two in weight, sometimes more. Usually it is much smaller,
a half-pound perch being a good-sized fish in most localities. In
midsummer, in weedy ponds, it is not good; but at other seasons, or in
clear, cold water, it is an excellent pan-fish, firm and flaky. In
brackish water it is good at all seasons. Whenever it has a muddy taste,
it should be skinned, by which the objectionable flavor is removed
almost entirely, and owing to its adherent scales it is the best plan
for dressing it. It spawns early in the spring, in March and April,
though in very cold waters not until May. The eggs are about twelve to
the inch, and are held together by a glutinous substance in long,
ribbonlike masses from two to six feet in length, and from an inch to
three or four inches wide.
Light trout tackle, either for bait-fishing or fly-fishing, is suitable
for the yellow-perch for those anglers who can appreciate the pleasure
to be derived only by the use of appropriate and elegant tackle for any
kind of fishing, and a pound perch is well worthy of such implements.
With a fly-rod of a few ounces, a light click reel, an enamelled silk
line, and a small leader and flies on hooks No. 7, the yellow-perch will
not disappoint the most exacting angler who has a true love for the
sport. Under such circumstances it is a good game-fish, eager to rise,
bold to a degree, and fights to a finish.
Most of the flies used for black-bass, as coachman, polka, oriole,
professor, Abbey, etc., are successful, as well as the hackles of
various shades, and occasionally red ibis and stone fly. The late
afternoon hours are to be preferred for fly-fishing. The flies should be
allowed to sink with each cast, after being fluttered on the surface a
few seconds.
In the absence of a more suitable rod, a light one of native cane, nine
or ten feet long, will do good service without a reel. The line should
be the smallest "sea-grass," or twisted silk. Hooks Nos. 5 or 6, on gut
snells, with a small brass box-swivel for connecting snell and line,
make up the rest of the tackle.
The most taking bait is a small minnow, but grasshoppers, crickets,
white grubs, or earthworms are good. In tidal waters the shrimp is
preferred. But in the absence of any of these baits, cut-bait, either
fish or flesh, may be used with good results, for the yellow-perch is
not very particular or fastidious. Large perch are also easily taken by
trolling with the minnow, or a very small spoon on lakes or ponds. If
the spoon is employed, but a single hook should be used, and that not
too large. I am not an advocate, however, for trolling for so small a
fish, and merely mention it as one of the ways and means that may be
followed. There are men who never rise above this method for any
game-fish, but they are more to be pitied than blamed. They either lack
the skill to practise more approved methods, or are too indolent to
learn them.
The yellow-perch has been introduced into some waters west of the
Rockies. A few weighing about a pound were sent to me from a lake about
forty miles west of Spokane, which were of exceptionally bright
coloration and good flavor. In the same box were two pike of about four
pounds each, and a large-mouth black-bass of eight pounds, dressed, and
very fat, plump, and delicious. These fish were the result of a single
plant by the United States Fish Commission some years ago. On the
Missouri River, a few miles above the Great Falls, a large lake has been
formed by an expansion of the river, caused by building a dam for an
electric light plant. Several years ago some yellow-perch were placed in
this lake, or in the river just above it, but by whom I have not been
able to ascertain. At all events, the lake now swarms with perch,
strings of one hundred or more not being an uncommon catch in a single
day, as I am credibly informed. As the water above the forks of the
Missouri River is too cold for the perch, and the water of the lake too
warm for trout or grayling, there seems to be no probability of any harm
resulting from the introduction of the yellow-perch, though it was not a
wise thing to do. About the only fish in that portion of the Missouri,
before the perch were planted just above the Great Falls, were ling,
suckers, and catfish.
In the many small lakes near Oconomowoc. Wisconsin, the yellow-perch
thrives well. It is caught in the summer by men, women, and children
with almost any kind of bait, and often with the rudest tackle. To the
summer visitors it is a source of perennial delight, and an unfailing
means of enjoyment to the juvenile anglers. In my day, Genesee Lake, a
few miles from Oconomowoc, contained some of the largest perch of all
the numerous lakes and lakelets. In this lake only the small-mouth bass
and yellow-perch were found, no large-mouth bass or pike, and the bass
and perch were of about the same size--two pounds. This uniformity of
weight did not obtain in any of the other lakes. A basket of perch from
Genesee Lake was a handsome sight, and the fish were unusually sweet and
savory. During the winter the residents catch yellow-perch through holes
cut in the ice in great numbers, in all of the lakes mentioned. It was
here that I devised my "Oconomowoc" bass fly with creamy yellow body,
hackle of hairs of deer's tail, cinnamon (woodcock) wings, and tail of
ginger; but for the perch of Genesee I found that with a tail of scarlet
wool it was more effective. Many a two-pound perch responded to that
lure, in days long gone, and as Thoreau says, "It is a true fish, such
as the angler loves to put into his basket or hang on top of his willow
twig on shady afternoons."