white or yellow? do perch really taste good?

[billditrite]

ok all you perchjerkers i got a question for ya...we have all seen how our western brothers love the perch and i have always heard about one being better tasting than the other . my question is. have you eaten perch and do you prefer yellow or white?

[billmwhite]

personally, i think yellow perch taste better.  white perch are more oily.  also, they are two different fishes.  i will take yellow anyday.

bmw

[Out4Trout]

To be honest with ya, I've never tried yellow perch because I was raised being told that they were junk fish and full of worms. White perch are good though. Maybe there's something to this yellow perch thing........the westerners really love em.  It's been fun to hear their reactions when we call them junk fish. 

[FireNIce]

I prefer White Perch anyday. You can get a nice filet and a little batter and fry and you've got a nice meal.
-Fire

[Loves To Fish]

I agree with Out4Trout, I was brought up thinking yellow perch were trash fish. I ate only white perch. I love them to death. Now that I have tried yellow perch, I find them also very tasty. If I had to pick a winner, I would pick white over yellow anyday.
                                                  LTF

[Annie]

white perch is the best.... for eating and for ya chowdah!

here in sabattus, we have to watch out for the laosians who come with buckets and fish for them illegally (with what do they call them 'christmas tree hooks?'  so they can sell to restaurants... they hit one lake then when they either catch enough or get caught, they go to the next

they even have look outs in the parking lot with radios...

all white perch!

they must be good huh?

[Niner]

There are some crafty poachers out there!

I was fishing an ebbing tide this summer.  I was watched the entire time by a Marine Patrol Officer with night vision.  He knew exactly how many fish I had caught and released.

After a quick conversation about my fishing, he educated me on a poaching ring, their tactics and places of choice.

I couldn't believe the tactics used to keep illegal fish.

Look outs and radio's don't surprise me one bit.

[Phoenix]

White Perch are not good to eat. However, if you do catch some you can send them to me and I will dispose of them. To keep postal cost down they should be filleted of course

Seriously I love both white and yellow provided they are big enough to fillet and I just don't get that many yellows where I fish that are big enough.

[Phoenix]

Annie, have there been any successfull prosecutions for selling these fish that you know of? If so what was the fine?

[icefishmaine]

Ive never tried yellow perch, but i love white perch.

[transplantfromMN]

I was thinking that I shouldnt even touch this thread but oh well. I am a "westerner" per say by raising and I can tell you that I have eaten yeller perch a few times but not by my own doing. I cant stand the mushy feel of the meat. Ok so on that note not all "westerners" eat yeller perch. I have not eaten white per either but have eaten white bass and to me they are the same fish so my vote goes to white perch.

[Annie]

Annie, have there been any successfull prosecutions for selling these fish that you know of? If so what was the fine?

As far as i know.... no... never been prosecuted... tho they have tried.... the poachers are too organized.

as soon as they think they are going to get nailed either from land or water, they keep a ciggie lit in their mouths and burn the line so they can't see how many hooks they have on.  if one lake seems to become hot then they move on... but they always come back...

you can tell who they are too, cuz their lexus' are in the parking lot and the women carry the big buckets...

 

[yukoncornelius]

An asian ring was nabbed a few years back during open water and prosecuted.

It was at least 2-3 years ago, can't exactly remember where in Maine they were caught, but they possessed an obscene amount of fish.

[Annie]

An asian ring was nabbed a few years back during open water and prosecuted.

It was at least 2-3 years ago, can't exactly remember where in Maine they were caught, but they possessed an obscene amount of fish.

well, they have been back since, trust me.. i see them at martin's point during open water season....

we sit on our porch and watch them hoping someone will grab them at it!

[ChristianC]

Yellow Perch by far!

Take the side felets, batter and deep fry them!!!

[smeltshack]

I would have to say that the Seagulls prefer the yellow 
at least they did today!!

[hardwater freak]

for myself i like white perch.   as for the poachers if i can i call the if&w hotline.. the number is in the rule book..
  hey annie glad to hear you caught your first crappie lastnight..   i was also looking for some info on the ice at sabbatus ?? thanks for any info...  may be up there tommorrow with flytier and friends...   seeya and fishon..

[Annie]

info like................ big trucks are now driving on the lake?
shacks abundance everywhere?
beautiful day for fishing?

hmmm... can't think of anything else besides that!! 8)

yah... since i got skunked last year... i was happy to catch some of them crappy fish!  loved it!

and Scott's shack is AWESOME!!!

[hardwater freak]

thanks annie , have you had a chance to eat some crappie ??  they are mighty tastey...   thanks again hope to fish with youall soon seeya...

[Scott Wright]

I am a fish eater... I have eaten bass, trout, pike, pickeral, eel, hornpout, crappie, etc. etc. I like fish. I've eaten lots of white perch and it is awesome. anything you can do with cod or pollock, you can do with white perch. It's a clean, white meat that cooks up mild and firm. good for frying, deep frying, backing, broiling or chowdah.


Yellow perch, on the other hand is nasty!! I've opened up dozens of yellow perch and tried several from all around southern and central Maine... I've never seen one - not one - that didn't have worms (summer or winter) and their meat is a dingy yellow color and very mushy. And it taste AWEFUL! Like fish gone bad. I believe that the yellow perch, here in Maine, must be different than those that are praised out west... No one could sing the praises of fish that look, taste and smell like our yellow perch.

[moosehunter]

big humback white perch for me . make a great sandwich on a bulkie with cheeze. as far as those poachers go, maybe someone can get together and make a citesens arrest.

[Slowbago01]

I grew up fishing Lake Champlain in VT where we catch yellow perch by the 5 gallon bucketfulls.  Yellow perch in the winter are tasty.  In fact, local restaurants pay good money for yellow perch meat!  In the summer however, I have seen worms in the perch - not sure if its a change in diet with the seasons or, or the result of a change in water temperature that is condusive to worm growth. 

I never caught white perch until I moved to Maine.  To me, they are equally as tasty.  I learned from a Long Lake (Naples, ME) local to fry the filets in REAL butter over a slow heat after the filets have been rolled in a flour/bread-crumbs mix.  If done properly on a cold day day in your ice shack, this recipe will bring a tear to your eye because its so dang good! 

[sbowman]

Yellow best white a close second both crappies third. Here on Ches bay we catch all three together at times

[TheOutdoorsman]

Yellow perch have always been more tasty than whites to me.  Then again, I like to bake whites and fry yellows.  Regardless, whites tend to have higher mercury concentrations, which doesn't affect taste, but does matter in the long run.

[Sawyerjosh]

Yellows taste better. Whites yield more and are easier to fillet. That said, hard to beat crappie!  Trout make good eagle food

[APJ]

Every yellow I have caught in the Lincoln area are stuffed full of worms!  Yuck!  Even the eagle prefers whites over yellows.

[Fishn'Rod]

Like most Mainers I grew up throwing every yellow perch caught into the bushes. While I was stationed at Ft. Drum I met some locals who took me ice fishing on one of the bays on Lake Ontario.I thought we were going after big salmon but when we got there these guys were crazy happy catching 6 inch yellows. I made fun of them all day.
After that one of them gave me a bag of fillets...and I couldn't believe how good they were.
Today I'll tell you that many times I go out specifically for yellows. I think most lakes have a shallow and  deep populations and I rarely find grubs in ones caught in over 15ft. A good test is to look at the gill plate. If you see a grub don't keep it.
Once you get confident  with a fillet knife, you'll be surprised how much meat you can get off an 8 incher.
Here on Allen Pond I routinely get them in the 13-15 inch range...fat, full of smelt and grub free. And I'm the only one after them.

[hardwatergrampa]

you can have my share I still give them to the big birds

[rude the dude]

Today I'll tell you Allen Pond I routinely get them in the 13-15 inch range...fat, full of smelt and grub free. And I'm the only one after them.

lol you'll have plenty of perch jerkers there now you should of left out the Allen pond part

[woodchip]

           The dark meat , is usually where you find the high mercury content  The older the fish the more dark meat. In cold water fish its mostly the ventral strip . This is why I think removing the dark meat when filleting makes for a healthy meal . Small fish have not had the chance to build up as much Mercury making them more desirable . and Healthy to eat . ( Eat Brain food)