Author Topic: Perch with eggs.  (Read 3809 times)

Offline jbird68

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 1,327
Perch with eggs.
« on: Feb 04, 2018, 07:46 AM »
I caught a couple perch yesterday and when I was cleaning them for the freezer they were both loaded with eggs. When do perch reproduce? Now,  I feel bad for taking them home. I would have rather let them go to reproduce.
jbird68





Offline taxi1

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 4,195
Re: Perch with eggs.
« Reply #1 on: Feb 04, 2018, 08:34 AM »
I caught a couple perch yesterday and when I was cleaning them for the freezer they were both loaded with eggs. When do perch reproduce? Now,  I feel bad for taking them home. I would have rather let them go to reproduce.

1. Yellow Perch start spawning in the spring when the water gets into the upper 40's. Typically it's over a two week period. At least it is in a pond I use to reproduce them. However they can already appear to be loaded with eggs in the fall if feed is ample.

2. Usually no need to be concerned about keeping females with eggs. One female can produce 200,000 eggs. If there aren't enough predators they can overproduce and stunt.
I live in the midwest now but have fond memories of fishing in New England as a kid.

Offline jbird68

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 1,327
Re: Perch with eggs.
« Reply #2 on: Feb 04, 2018, 08:54 AM »
Perch aren't even listed as being in this Illinois State Park. But I've been catching them through the ice for the last couple of years. I don't think they were stocked by DNR.


How can you tell if they have eggs? Belly didn't look like it was bulging.
jbird68





Offline taxi1

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 4,195
Re: Perch with eggs.
« Reply #3 on: Feb 04, 2018, 05:32 PM »
Perch aren't even listed as being in this Illinois State Park. But I've been catching them through the ice for the last couple of years. I don't think they were stocked by DNR.


How can you tell if they have eggs? Belly didn't look like it was bulging.

Could be a male? When they get close to peak egg maturation it's pretty obvious.


These two fish are from my fish farm. Top is a male bottom is a female. Both the same age. Males are runts compared to the females. During the spawning period one can push out milt with some pressure with the males along with the obese appearance of the female due to eggs. Up to 30 percent of a female's body weight can be eggs at peak spawning time.



They have differences in the appearance of their urogenital openings but it's not 100 percent. Only way to tell them apart 100 percent correctly when they are not in the spawning phase is by the use of a small diameter catether tube to see if you can extract some eggs.
I live in the midwest now but have fond memories of fishing in New England as a kid.

 



Iceshanty | MyFishFinder | MyHuntingForum
Contact | Disclaimer | Privacypolicy | Sponsor
© 1996- Iceshanty.com
All Rights Reserved.