We don't get many yellow perch in this region, so my experience is limited. When I visited the northeast a couple of times as a young man I caught a bunch of them on night crawlers. The only other place I've ever caught any is at Kentucky Lake while trying to catch crappie. I've caught a few on crappie jigs and I think, diet wise, yellow perch are probably a lot like crappie. I think I would start with small crappie jigs and, if you are inclined to use live bait, small minnows.