Male perch

[Dullhooks]

Any one else notice that they never seem to catch a male perch? Why is that? Males are too small to keep? Smarter than the females? Can't remember catching a single one this year. Used get a few at Lake Hattie in WY.

[Velcro]

Nah, the females are smarter. You don't catch the males because they've all already been caught.
I think I read somewhere that there's a larger percentage of female perch than males, not sure why. But I think the girls tend to grow bigger.

[Swift]

1/3 of the Perch caught seems to be males with that number starting to drop over the last few weeks and until ice out. Females just need to be eating more for egg development and until the spawn so they're easier to catch. I fish smaller lakes and let the big girls go from the first sign of significant egg development until ice out, they're our future. Just a personal choice, if it's legal have at it

[Junior88]

It's a fact that this time of the year female perch are putting on the feed bag. Much more aggressive .  If the males are anything like me they are sitting back checking out the curves.

[Dullhooks]

yeah the girls do seem to grow larger, especially after marriage! Seriously my catch rate of males is 1 or 2 per 100. Would be nice to have a biological reason. In this area the population is so high a large harvest helps, but I have seen a lake basically fished out. Lake Hattie in Wy 5 years ago it was easy to catch your 50! limit of 9-12" fish every time out. Today the lake is pretty dead from what I hear. Would like to learn more about perch biology.

[slipperybob]

Maybe the females school more.  In general when I catch those few loners, they have been a fairly high percentage of males.  Like 3 to 1.  When I'm hitting on top of a school of perch, females are like 9 to 1.

[JayHelfrich]

We were catching 10 females to 1 male this year on one lake and about 50/50 on another.  Guess it just depends.

Jay

[jiggin365]

Got about 10 females to 1 male in all the 4 lakes ive perch fished this winter.

[percheyes42]

Maybe the females school more.  In general when I catch those few loners, they have been a fairly high percentage of males.  Like 3 to 1.  When I'm hitting on top of a school of perch, females are like 9 to 1.

I agree. When u really get them, they seem to be females. When u get them here and there, they tend to be more males.

[siyakadog]

My buddy and I just talked about this today- we put 40 on the ice Saturday.  His 22 only 2 or 3 males, my 18 had only 3 females.  We fished side by side in the same shack

[Velcro]

Was his lure pink and yours blue? That's too funny.

[slipperybob]

Mabe one buck perch can control a bunch of doe perch? 

[pot-belly-perch]

Was his lure pink and yours blue? That's too funny.

PINK   IS   A KOOL   perch  getter 

[dabluz]

I am pretty sure that perch populations are similar to walleye populations....meaning that the normal male perch is way smaller than his counterpart the female perch.  I also think that like walleye, the male to female ratio is close to 10 adult males for every adult female.