Male or Female?

[rileyross]

How do tell between a male or a female perch?  Just want to preserve the future generations of perch.

[Shovel74]

As soon as you catch one...rub its belly, if the fins on its back stand up....it's a male.........lol.

[Bailbuster]

Turn it over and look. Thats a good ? only way I have been sure is is the eggs.It's to late then.BB

[Van_Cleaver]

This time of year most females have a pronounced gut on them. Most of the biggest fish you catch will be females, as well. The males tell to have a sleeker, more evenly tapered look, too. The biggest fattest piggies will almost always be females.

[Townie]

Male (click for larger image)

[Townie]

Female "heavy egger"

[panfishman13]

i usually can't tell till i fillet 'em but i don't catch male perch too often in winter

[rileyross]

Does anyone Know???

[edddieo]

Does anyone Know???

ask them 

[rileyross]

ask them 

I did ask???

[Townie]

Does anyone Know???

Van Cleaver's reply along w/ my pics should be answer enough 

[taxi1]

One thing I may add is I recently learned something new about them. I was always told the males have brighter red/orange fins than the females. Recently I saw a picture of an egg laden female with bright orange/red fins. So the fin color thing is questionable to me now. It may be a general rule but not an absolute.

[hamlin big daddy]

Put them in a bucket. Let them get to know one another. Keep watch very closely. The ones chasing the others around are the males in most cases.

[captain54]

One can not be 100% right on this but most often the females have larger bellies(with eggs sometime protruding out there vent) and the males are more streamline(sometimes squirting milt). I think it's been covered.

[fiddlehead322]

One good stomp will tell ya!

[taxi1]

The females won't stop flapping their gums!

[MrMarty51]

One good stomp will tell ya!

[hamlin big daddy]

Stroke it right above the tail on the belly side. You will soon be able to tell. No pictures required. Don't forget to give it a kiss first.

[putback]

Rookies! Measure 3 ft from hole, mark a 12 inch circle, from there  measure 2 ft left and right respectivley. At these two points, on the right place a Bud, on the left a wine cooler. As you catch you fish toss them in the circle. Males will flop to the right, females to the left!

[Hando]

Since the females are typically the big ones you should put all of the big perch you catch back down the hole just to be safe. When I catch them I will gladly seperate them out for you.

[jabrone]

How do tell between a male or a female perch?  Just want to preserve the future generations of perch.

Easiest way to preserve pop. would be to only keep the ones that are gut hooked and the ones that are past their prime and the sterile ones but then again how do you tell?then subtract them from current pop.and add all the din ks you send to their deaths by an immediate pike attack.then add the millions that will be spawned......no but really preservation is the way to go.we just need to give their lips a break once in a while.
   

[the local angler]

for most of the other species like lake whitefish, mountian whitefish, trout, walleyes, burbot and such i have seen the males start to leak their milt close to spawning. i seen people stroke the belly and see what comes out the pooper. but this is also not 100%.

[taxi1]

for most of the other species like lake whitefish, mountian whitefish, trout, walleyes, burbot and such i have seen the males start to leak their milt close to spawning. i seen people stroke the belly and see what comes out the pooper. but this is also not 100%.

Fish just like other animals have two openings. The sex products do not come out of the "pooper" but out of the other opening known as the urogential opening. Next time you catch a fish turn it over and look. You will see two openings.

[the local angler]

hmm interesting

[Van_Cleaver]

If they tell you it's time for a serious talk, female. If they want to hang out with their buddies; they're guys.

[Ed_r]

Hmmm so does this mean when you rub its belly and find out its a male and keep him, Did you just give him a happy ending?

Hey maybe if you released a now known male, he may go tell the rest of his experience and they may start flinging themselves up the hole.
I personally think I'll stick with the visual approach of checking for females.

This does bring up a question though. If during winter the female perch are so egg filled, I would assume that means they are close to spawning. Why is it in IL. they close the Lake Michigan perch season in July? They say it is for spawning perch? Do different areas have different spawn times for perch? I could see a few weeks or month difference, but were talking almost a half a year.

[Van_Cleaver]

Alright; I was fooling around with my last post; I did offer some serious advice earlier on in the thread. As for spawning, I thought perch were early spawners; before the crappie, which tend to spawn from early to mid April around here. (PA) Most fish tend to be triggered by water temp, and amount of daylight.  July seems awfully late IMO. , but I'm not a fisheries biologist either.

[Mainehazmt]

I think ya need to ask the eagles and fox's on the lakes they are the only one that would know because they eat them  but in my experience they don't care  they just like all trash fish!

[jimski2]

I watched the biologist check the perch on a gillnet boat and they took their penknife and pressed it against the vent [a** hole] and looked for eggs if they were present, then it was a female.

[scavengerj]

Mmmm, fried perch roe! Haven't had that in a few years.