European perch Totally Explained

Everything about the European Perch totally explained

The European perch (Perca fluviatilis) is a highly predatory species of perch found in Europe and Asia. In some areas it's known as the redfin perch or English perch, and it's often referred to by the shortform perch. The species is very popular and has been widely introduced beyond its native area, into Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. They have caused substantial damage to native fish populations in Australia.
   European perch are greenish with red pelvic, anal, and caudal fins. They have 5-9 dark vertical bars on their sides.
   European perch size can vary greatly between bodies of water; in Australia the fish are sometimes much larger than in their native Europe. The perch can live for up to 22 years, and older perch are often much larger than average; the maximum recorded length is 60cm and reach a maximum weight of around 10.4kg in Australasia, a maximun of less than 3kg in the UK (the UK record stands at 6lb 2oz), they grow to moderately larger maximums in mainland Europe than in Britain.
   The perch spawns at the end of April or beginning of May, depositing it upon weeds, or the branches of trees or shrubs that have become immersed in the water; it doesn't come into condition again until July.

Fishing

The baits for perch are, minnows, brandling, red, marsh, and lob worms, shrimps and artificial lures. The tackle should be fine but strong, as with a fish bait (such as a small perch or roach) a trout or pike may frequently be hooked. Therefore the fisherman has a certain responsibility to use a wire trace with such baits as considerable damage could be done to pike or trout if light line is broken. Artificial lures can be quite effective too, particular for medium sized perch. Perch are gregarious, and in the winter months, when floods have destroyed weedbeds, they congregate together in pools, and may be angled for with greatest success from 10 to 4 o'clock before light fades.

Relation to the yellow perch

Because of their similar appearance and ability to cross-breed, the yellow perch has sometimes been classified as a subspecies of the European perch, in which case its trinomial name would be Perca fluviatilis flavescens.
However, it's unclear whether or not hybrids are viable, and most classifications treat the two fish as separate species. According to NatureServe, allozyme data indicates that Perca fluviatilis and Perca flavescens are separate species.

Further Information

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