Yellow Perch Help

[Panfisher86]

     Hello my New Hampshire friends just moved up here recently to the state in the  Newbury area  and me and my oldest son like to fish alot open water on he boat  and this year wanted to get into more hardwater fishing. We both are catch and release fisherman and try for the master angler each year. My question is are there are lake or ponds near by that we might have a chance a catching a jumbo perch 12 inches or great to release for master angler status. I am aware most bodies of water have perch in them but under size stunted fish are in alot of places. Im not looking for your fishing spot just the name of place we can catch and release a few nice perch. Thanks i appreciate any information just new to area and plan on exploring and trying something different each outing this season.

[Uppervalley Kid]

Im not a perch fishermen by any means but have fished many of the lakes around Newbury mostly looking for trout. In terms of jumbos..most of these Ive caught sporadically on a tip up. Again, Im usually not targeting perch but any of the ponds around 89 have some decent fish in them. Especially those that have limited summer access.

[Steve H.]

Especially those that have limited summer access.

Agreed.  My biggest yellows have come from lakes or ponds with no real public access, at least during the summer.

[fishermantim]

Due to fishing pressure, jumbos can be hard to find without time and effort.
Virtually any pond is likely to have some jumbos, but whether you are in the right spot at the right times could be just luck.

Like most will say, the jumbos tend to be a bycatch when trying for other species.
Not a bad bycatch, more of an unexpected one.

[fishingidjit]

Best chance for a jumbo will be during the late season ice when the perch spawn, can't help with locations though.

[Dickbakers]

Best chance for a jumbo will be during the late season ice when the perch spawn, can't help with locations though.

A agree.  Last ice and just before sunset. 

[jigmaster5]

m not looking for your fishing spot just the name of place we can catch and release a few nice perch. Thanks i appreciate any information just new to area and plan on exploring and trying something different each outing this season.

Names are a touchy subject.  NH maintains a list of trophy fish + records, you can get some specific ideas there.  You can also use the search function to find more ideas.

In general, I find the bigger ponds + lakes produce bigger yellow perch.  Trouble is they take longer to set-up for good ice.  The smaller ponds can be good, but they need to have an unlimited supply of forage (usually aquatic invertebrates + larva + worms....) - otherwise perch get stunted.  Too much competition w/o a strong forage base - not many small ponds have the right mix.  A good pond will have perch coughing up all kinds of junk that they eat after you haul them up.  Mud bottoms are good b/c usually more for them to eat.  They will graze almost like cows - searching the mud flats for invertebrates to eat.

In Mass, you can use live perch for bait (not true in NH).  Big perch will eat smaller perch up to about 3"-4".  Even if they can't quite choke them down, they'll still try to eat them.  That's what the big ones eat when they get big enough (small perch + minnows...in addition to the invertabrates) - along w/ anything else they can cram down their throats.  Also, around dusk, smaller perch will shelter tight to the bottom to avoid predators & stay there tight to bottom.  From what I've seen, big perch will act almost like walleye.  They have no fear of eating after dark & will roam around & feed.  Some of the biggest perch that I've seen caught or seen photos of from friends hit just after dark.

Good luck!

[BIBBILL]

I've only caught some true "jumbos" on big water, although there is plenty of nice perch to be had in most warmwater fisheries in my experience 

[AQUAASSASSIN]

I've only caught some true "jumbos" on big water, although there is plenty of nice perch to be had in most warmwater fisheries in my experience 

Agreed

[800stealth]

I've found that jumbos are typically more loners and don't really hang with the school as much... When the schools come through they seem to be more average sized and the big girls are usually trailing behind a few minutes or show up a few minutes earlier than the pack. Or at least that's how they act on my favorite yellow spot (Not a big lake, but not a mud puddle either)...

[AQUAASSASSIN]

Monster I got last year on a 2 trapper while jigging, it beat state record length on the certified but not the weight which is what matters. Missed it by some ounces

[800stealth]

I remember that... couple days before the derby right? Always times out that way...

[AQUAASSASSIN]

I remember that... couple days before the derby right? Always times out that way...

Yep lolll the week before. I was Rainbow fishing and it was dead so I grabbed electronics and pulled a trap I set up on the edge of a 10-11 foot flat that dropped off a shelf to 26’

I caught probably 25 all 12” or bigger on a unbaited rattle spoon

[800stealth]

Guess that shoots down my loner theory lol... I gotta drag my ass up the lakes region more often...

[fish2131]

Got this pig today was a loner in about 20’ of water 2 trap lake over sand/gravel bottom took a 5” shiner

[800stealth]

Nice one!

[Lv2hunt]

That's a pig nice fish!!

[Roccus]

Yep lolll the week before. I was Rainbow fishing and it was dead so I grabbed electronics and pulled a trap I set up on the edge of a 10-11 foot flat that dropped off a shelf to 26’

I caught probably 25 all 12” or bigger on a unbaited rattle spoon

I remember that..

A real pork chop..pictures never do those fish justice

[five fathoms]

Didn't Sharps haul in a 16"-er on the last ice of the 2019/2020 season?
New England does produce some jumbos, for sure.

[TRT]

Yep thats were the flasher helps I often catch the  biggest perch of the day off the bottom when  i see a fish cruising through.

[DConICE]

Guess that shoots down my loner theory lol... I gotta drag my ass up the lakes region more often...

X2 - drive time worth the potential rewards

[dunphy11]

I think the master angler program is a VT thing, never heard NH having one. Don’t know if a NH fish would qualify .

[river_scum]

some huge perch guy! nice going.

I think the master angler program is a VT thing, never heard NH having one. Don’t know if a NH fish would qualify .

  how would they determine where it came from?  just the reason I don't even read that part of our book. lol

[AQUAASSASSIN]

NH has a trophy program where you get a fruity pin or something. The fact you need to provide where you caught it should turn anyone off from doing it or offering any pond name on this thread. Your honey hole will be raped and pillaged.

[Retiredtofish]

Caught 2 big yellow perch in a small pond in 3 feet of water while fishing for pickerel last week. Did not expect them to be this big in a small body of water.

[PikeKing23]

Ummm.  Not a yellow perch 

[Retiredtofish]

Sorry new to posting pics on shanty. This is the pic of perch caught.

[moosehunter]

river lakes always hold big perch

[Panfisher86]

Dang  i didnt know yellow perch fishing was such a secret up here kinda sad eveyone acts like this. Guess ill just have to get out there and secretively try to catch a jumbo perch somewhere

[800stealth]

I see good info on this thread, guys put up pics of fish taken from 2 trap lakes and most agreed that a 2 trap lake would be where you should start, there aren't many 2 trap lakes in the state so that should narrow it down significantly. Guess that wasn't good enough for someone chasing a "master angler" pin... Could probably find one on Ebay if easy is what you were after...