Thread: Yellow perch

Hey Craig, are there any waters here in the state that would support yellow perch?

I'm not the biologist, but we got 'em at lake Wabaunsee. In pretty good numbers too. We always catch a few every Spring while crappie fishing, but I watched the neighbors catch a zillion of them while fishing for bluegills and green sunfish last summer. I never would have guessed there were that many if I hadn't seen it.

Originally Posted by quivira kid

Hey Craig, are there any waters here in the state that would support yellow perch?

quivira kid,

Yes, there are many waters that would support yellow perch in Kansas and as Fish Taxi mentioned, there are lakes in the state that currently have yellow perch populations present. Two others that I know of are Gardner City Lake in Johnson County and Council Grove City Lake. The two lakes I mention have rather low density populations but occasionally anglers hook in to a nice sized yellow perch. These populations exist due to stockings from the old Federal hatcheries that used to be in operation many years ago in Kansas. The populations are now obviously self-sustaining as the species persists without supplemental stocking.

Thanks for the response! Guess I've got some research to do. I'm thinkin' about a road trip next ice season...

Originally Posted by quivira kid

Thanks for the response! Guess I've got some research to do. I'm thinkin' about a road trip next ice season...

Quivira Kid,

Here's a picture of a yellow perch I sampled this year at Council Grove City Lake. We saw quite a few while sampling for black bass but most were small.

Is there a reason the state does not stock more yellow perch in ne kansas lakes?

put them right up with the eyes for eatin

Thank you for posting again on this Craig. I remembered seeing this picture the other night and wondered where you had found it at. I too would like to see more of these stocked. I'm assume funding would be the issue as to why these are no longer stocked?

Originally Posted by SCOTTY1094

Is there a reason the state does not stock more yellow perch in ne kansas lakes?

Originally Posted by CaptainT16

Thank you for posting again on this Craig. I remembered seeing this picture the other night and wondered where you had found it at. I too would like to see more of these stocked. I'm assume funding would be the issue as to why these are no longer stocked?

Scotty and CaptainT,

There are a number of reasons why yellow perch are not more widely stocked in Kansas public fishing waters. First off, we are on the extreme southern edge of the range of yellow perch and the established populations of these fish have never amounted to much of anything. Although they can persist over time, the populations in these lakes that currently hold yellow perch don't offer a quality fishing experience to anglers as most individuals are small in size and density is low. A yellow perch stocking program would place unneeded competition on more popular fish species such as crappie in Kansas impoundments and there is the potential for negative impacts to the more popular species. I've never heard funding as a reason why to not stock yellow perch more widely in Kansas as it is usually 'biological reasons' that tip the scale in favor of not stocking. Historical stockings produced less than stellar results and interest in additional stockings dropped off.

If you are looking for a quality yellow perch trip, you'll be best heading north!

Cool pic, Craig! I'm thinking I may just need to see if I can sweet talk Andy into getting me into some up his way.