Thread: White Perch

Eat 'em, you'll like 'em.

I keep all my family can eat. I skin them, but then I skin all my fish.

White Perch are a fine eating fish, but do need heavy controls in place to keep the populations from getting any more out of hand than they already are.
If you haven't tried eating some... I can almost guarantee you that when you do... you will hate you ever threw one back.

I have always thrown them back until the consensus on this forum was they are bad for the reasons you cite. It is even legal to cast net for them. It is quite fortunate that they are good to eat! I saw a program last night on the lionfish that are taking over the Atlantic. The females lay about 30,000 eggs at a time and can lay eggs every 3or 4 days!!! They eat everything and have no predators due to their poisonous spines. But, they taste good. So, we can consider ourselves lucky in regards to the perch.

The white perch are reported to be great catfish bait, too. I would guess striper bait, too.

Originally Posted by Crewmax42

I have always thrown them back until the consensus on this forum was they are bad for the reasons you cite. It is even legal to cast net for them. It is quite fortunate that they are good to eat! I saw a program last night on the lionfish that are taking over the Atlantic. The females lay about 30,000 eggs at a time and can lay eggs every 3or 4 days!!! They eat everything and have no predators due to their poisonous spines. But, they taste good. So, we can consider ourselves lucky in regards to the perch.

The white perch are reported to be great catfish bait, too. I would guess striper bait, too.

I seen that too, Bizarre Foods. I will start keeping them. We did cut one up and caught a nice channel cat on it. I've used them for bait before but now I'll start eating them. Thanks for all the replies guys.

They are good eating, better than crappie. Do whatever you want to them, just don't throw them back or they will take over the whole fishery. I am not sure if NC regulation specifies that one CANNOT throw it back alive, if it don't, we need such regulation.

They are very good to eat and you mentioned striper bait. I have never tried them for stripers, but have heard to take scissors and cut off the top fin if using for striper bait. They have those top fins that they flair out and stripers don't like that I have been told.

I think their just as good as crappie, if not better, my wife prefers crappie, but we eat them.