Perch

As a small, shallow lake, Perch lake's simple fish community is easily impacted by water levels, winterkill, and fishing pressure. Since no severe winterkill has occurred for several years, most fish populations have been relatively stable in abundance. However, size structures of some species have apparently shown the effects of increased fishing pressure. Bluegill populations, in particular, consisted of smaller fish in 2008 than in the past. In 1984, no bluegills smaller than seven inches were captured in test nets. Twenty-four years later, bluegills larger than seven inches were rare and none over eight inches were found. Northern pike are not especially abundant and no exceptionally large pike were caught, but the average size was better in 2008 than in 1998. The average pike size was 25.5 inches in length and 3.7 pounds. Sampled pike ranged from 20.5 to 31.7 inches. Walleyes have only been caught in one survey (1993), but several other species were present in 2008 including black crappie, brown bullhead, golden shiner, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed sunfish, white sucker, and yellow perch. Crappie and bass were found in modest numbers. Bass averaged approximately a pound and a half each while the few crappies were all small (age one). Anglers can help sustain a higher quality fishery in Perch Lake by releasing a portion of larger fish they might otherwise have kept. However, it must be recognized that the lake is vulnerable to infrequent winterkill, especially when water levels are lower. While the current high water levels make it unlikely, winterkill in the near future would make catch and release less than effective in Perch Lake.

As a small, shallow lake, Perch lake's simple fish community is easily impacted by water levels, winterkill, and fishing pressure. Since no severe winterkill has occurred for several years, fish populations have been relatively stable in abundance.However, size structures of some species have apparently shown the effects of increased fishing pressure. Northern pike and bluegill populations, for instance, consisted of smaller fish than in the past. In 1984, no bluegills smaller than seven inches were captured in test nets. Fourteen years later, bluegills larger than seven inches were rare. Again, northern pike averaged nearly four pounds in 1984 but only 1.5 pounds in 1998.While walleye were not caught in test nets in 1998, several other species were, including black crappie, brown bullhead, golden shiner, pumpkinseed sunfish, white sucker, and yellow perch. Crappie were not particularly abundant or fast-growing, but, a wide range of age groups and sizes up to 10.8 inches were present.Anglers can help to sustain a higher quality fishery in Perch Lake by releasing a portion of larger fish they might otherwise have kept. However, it must be recognized that the lake is vulnerable to infrequent winterkill, especially when water levels are lower. Winterkill in the near future would likely make catch and release fruitless in Perch Lake.

Perch Lake is a very small, shallow lake where water levels have apparently fluctuated considerably over the longterm. A large bay to the southeast becomes part of the lake during high water. Water levels were low in the 60'sand the lake was thought to winterkill regularily. A return to higher levels in the 70's prompted winter oxygentesting in 1975 and oxygen concentrations were found to be adequate for fish. Northern pike, bluegill, and blackcrappie were stocked. The lake was again stocked in 1983 with northern pike yearlings. Annual winter oxygentesting since 1975 has failed to document a winterkill situation. Only twice did oxygen levels even approach acritical stage. An intial lake survey was conducted in 1984. Northern pike numbers were found to be in the normal range for thisclass of lake but with an above average size. Average weight was nearly four pounds. Bluegills and blackcrappies were abundant but still within the normal range for this lake class. Bluegills averaged 7.4 inches andblack crappies 8.3 inches in length. Yellow perch abundance, at 33.2 per gillnet, was well above the normalrange. A small number of brown bullheads, white suckers, and pumpkinseeds were also found.The current survey found that abundance of all gamefish species had declined since the 1984 survey. Brownbullheads show an increase. The small surface area and water volume of this lake may make natural reproductionsuccess for many species unusually sensitive to fluctuations in weather patterns and water levels. The currentdecline in net catches for most species may be a combination of the larger fish present in '84 succumbing to oldage or angler harvest, and less than optimum spawning success in recent years. Size structures for all specieshave declined as younger fish now comprise a greater proportion of the populations. Growth rates for all speciesappear to be normal. Walleyes, not present in 1984, were sampled at 1.5/GN in the current survey. They were all five years old andwere apparently stocked by an unknown party. They exhibit a fast growth rate and are currently averaging 3.2 lbs. Walleyes are not commonly found in this class of lake and their presence may partially inhibit the success of theother species.No development other than a road along a portion of the west shore is present on this lake. It remains in arelatively natural state with emergent vegetation throughout much of the shallow water and a fringe of treesaround the shoreline. Adjacent land is primarily agrigultural. Protecting the natural vegetation should be ofprimary importance as only minor alterations could have a significant impact on this small lake.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Northern Pike, Walleye, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Pumpkinseed in Perch. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Perch. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Perch has a maximum depth of 19 feet and a mean depth of 9.7 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Perch is from 2008. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

No invasive species are on record for Perch in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.