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Yellow Perch(Perca flavescens) |
Yellow Perch have coloring that tends to be brassy green to golden yellow on their sides and white to yellow on their belly. Their most distinguishing feature is 6-8 dark vertical bands that are found across their back and sides. Their anal, pelvic, and pectoral fins are red to orange, with these colors being brightest in males during the spawning season. These fish are also characterized by having a dorsal fin that is completely divided into a spiny portion and a separate soft-rayed portion, and an anal fin with two long and slender spines.
Yellow perch spawn in the spring, usually in shallow, vegetated areas, though they will utilize a number of both depths and substrates. They do not construct nests. Instead, the females lay eggs in long, rope-like, spiraling strands that attach to vegetation or bottom material. Females may deposit between 10,000 and 48,000 eggs, and the strands may be as long as 7 feet and weigh as much as 2 pounds.
Adult yellow perch commonly travel in schools and feed upon small aquatic insects, invertebrates (especially snails, when available), prey fish species and even their own eggs at times. They feed most often during low-light periods of the day and rarely, if ever, at night. Yellow perch do not slow down activity or feeding during winter.
