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My Fish Finder Main => General Fishing Discussion => Topic started by: taxid on Mar 17, 2011, 06:40 AM

Title: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 17, 2011, 06:40 AM
Now that I produce my own yellow perch as a aquaculturist I thought I'd share something with some of you if you didn't know it.

How many of you know the female yellow perch grows faster and gets to a larger size than the males? In fact the males are runts in comparison to the females.

Here are a male and a female side by side I just planted into my production pond along with several others. These fish are the same age but as you can see the male is much smaller and it's not just the presence of the eggs in the female.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/yelspring11004.jpg)

If you catch a fairly slender perch this time of year and want to see if it's a male squeeze gently toward the anus and you'll exude a whitish fluid, which of course, is milt (semen).

The female's eggs come out in a gelatinous strand that expands in size as it absorbs water.  After absorbing water these strands can be up to 7 feet in length in really large females.  The average amount of eggs is about 28,000 but can be up to over 200,000.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/Percheggsburlap017.jpg)






Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: steelie1975 on Mar 17, 2011, 08:13 AM
knew about the size difference and stuff but the pictures are a great reference. The egg picture is awesome thanks for sharing
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: Boomer on Mar 17, 2011, 09:43 AM
Just curious, about what percent of the eggs actually hatch in an aquaculture setting ( I am assuming that in a naturaly setting it will be lower).
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: Raquettedacker on Mar 17, 2011, 10:41 AM
Your lucky I dont live close to you, cus I would be over all the time picking your brain...  Thanks for always posting cool information...
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: Rod_bender on Mar 17, 2011, 10:52 AM
thanks for the info!
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: slabspanker on Mar 17, 2011, 11:22 AM
neat picture
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: Santo180 on Mar 17, 2011, 12:13 PM
I notice in the picture that the yellow is not very bright.  Is it the picture or is that just the color of farm raised fish?
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 17, 2011, 04:26 PM
Just curious, about what percent of the eggs actually hatch in an aquaculture setting ( I am assuming that in a naturaly setting it will be lower).

If they were allowed to attach them to brush etc. in the pond, which I have done before this year, probably the same as in a wild setting. I honestly don't know what that is.  My WAG if they remain off the bottom (if they lay on the bottom they get completely or partially oxygen deficient), about 80 percent.

This year I put 6 females and 16 males in a floating cage 5 ' X 5' X 4 feet deep along with a deneedled Christmas tree weighted down in the cage with an anchor for the females to attach their eggs. I hope to get better fertilization this year vs. previous years doing that but I run the risk of having the fish damage the eggs making some of the eggs fall through the cage to the bottom.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 17, 2011, 04:27 PM
Your lucky I dont live close to you, cus I would be over all the time picking your brain...  Thanks for always posting cool information...

I'd be happy to answer all your questions here.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 17, 2011, 04:30 PM
I notice in the picture that the yellow is not very bright.  Is it the picture or is that just the color of farm raised fish?

Interestingly my perch are fairly light until they get to be about 13 inches. Then they really color up. Not sure why but it is probably something in the natural feed they eat along with the pellets.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/IMG_1114.jpg)
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: gillblues on Mar 17, 2011, 08:30 PM
aussum picks ! thanks for the info.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: Zern on Mar 18, 2011, 07:09 AM
Very interesting!

 Have you been able to find out what triggers the spawn? moon? sun? water temp? Seams like every body of water has it own spawn time. (march, april or may) And have they always spawned on a certin date? How does water depht play a role? That great pic you have of the spawn looks shallow but was wondering if the spawn in deeper waters too.

 Also I heard the Perch eggs are toxic to other fish. Is that true?

 Thank you very much for the info. I look forward to any other tid-bits you want to share!

 Mark
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 18, 2011, 11:10 AM
Very interesting!
 Have you been able to find out what triggers the spawn? moon? sun? water temp? Seams like every body of water has it own spawn time. (march, april or may) And have they always spawned on a certin date?  

It's both photoperiod (length of day) and water temperature induced.  The eggs actually start developing in early fall as the days shorten, and egg production peaks in the spring when water temps climb into the 40's and there has been enough photoperiod. Not all the fish spawn at once and it usually takes place over a 2 week period. Some drop their eggs in warmer water. With all fish the fact that not all fish spawn at once is a good thing as it protects the fish from weather conditions that would wipe out the spawn if they all spawned at once.

Of course larger bodies of water take longer to warm up, so, with those it's later than the smaller bodies of water.  There may be genetic differences related to spawning timing also, but it would play a lesser role than the above two parameters.  Interestingly yellow perch need a certain amount of days where the water is under 50 F. for their eggs to develop properly according to one study.

How does water depth play a role? That great pic you have of the spawn looks shallow but was wondering if the spawn in deeper waters too.

Typically the perch look for debris to lay their eggs on in shallow water at night on brush, weeds, etc.  although some get dropped on the bottom where they don't fair well. A small percentage of my females have trouble getting the eggs out and die.

Also I heard the Perch eggs are toxic to other fish. Is that true?

Don't know but nothing seems to bother them other than fungus.

 
Thank you very much for the info. I look forward to any other tid-bits you want to share!

 Mark
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 18, 2011, 11:14 AM
Here's a couple more pics showing how intense in color my fish become once they become larger. It must be pigments in the natural diet in the pond.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/IMG_1882.jpg)

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/IMG_1884.jpg)
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: monkeyman2269 on Mar 18, 2011, 05:11 PM
hmm whats the purpose of raising um for food or stocking and how deeps your pond ? and how big
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 18, 2011, 06:06 PM
hmm whats the purpose of raising um for food or stocking and how deeps your pond ? and how big

I raise trophy size perch for sale to Bass Pro Shops for their show tanks which I deliver annually to their main store and quarantine facility in Springfield, MO. I also raise some of them sold frozen to taxidermists for taxidermy competitions and their show rooms.  In most states game fish caught out of public waters are illegal to sell but it's O.k. if they are privately raised. Therefore this demand and the fact that a taxidermist can't necessarily go out and catch a trophy fish when he needs to.  There are exceptions on the legality. Some states allow the sale of panfish out of public waters and some states don't allow gamefish for sale except for stocking purposes.

I raise other species to trophy size also. Right now  yellow perch, bluegills, and smallmouth bass. I was raising brown and brook trout but have stopped that temporarily.

I have four ponds on the property. The biggest one is .62 acres.  11 feet max depth. Depth isn't important as I run a small diffuser in the shallow ends in the winter to prevent winterkill.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/Aerialproperty.jpg)
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: monkeyman2269 on Mar 18, 2011, 06:42 PM
do u make good money?
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: pikeslayer on Mar 18, 2011, 06:56 PM
whats the biggest perch you've ever raised
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: havens88 on Mar 18, 2011, 07:48 PM
Now thats a cool job.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 18, 2011, 09:09 PM
do u make good money?

Not yet, but I'm working on it.  :-\  I get good money for each individual fish but don't have the sales yet to feel like I'm really making money.

Like any business there's overhead like feed, utilities, fertilizer, labor.

Edit:

Oh and one of the biggest expenses: Health testing. I had to destroy 60 fish and pay $300.00 to have them tested for the VHS virus. Never mind it's never been found on a fish farm and probably never will be. It will cost double that once the board of animal health trains a veterinarian to take samples.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 18, 2011, 09:10 PM
Now thats a cool job.

It's a sideline.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 18, 2011, 09:14 PM
whats the biggest perch you've ever raised

The one in my avatar is the biggest one that came out of my pond. It was an anomaly though as I haven't had one come out of the pond that big since. I can get them up to 15 inches at age five or six (the one in my avatar was six years old),  but they seem to not get any larger. There seems to be a barrier at about 15 inches -- some even in the 14 inch range.  

I caught her ice fishing in February and I'm pretty sure if I had caught her just before she dropped her eggs she would have gone 3 lbs.

Contrary to what some anglers say a 16 inch or larger perch is extremely rare. I know we hear of people catching them "all the time,"  but it seems odd there is never a picture available.  ;D
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: fishermantim4 on Mar 18, 2011, 10:24 PM
thats a very interesting bit of info taxi, 15 inches at 5yrs old.  16inches at 6 yrs old, how big are they at the younger ages roughly?  how big are some of you bluegill and smallmouths?
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 19, 2011, 08:27 AM
thats a very interesting bit of info taxi, 15 inches at 5yrs old.  16inches at 6 yrs old, how big are they at the younger ages roughly?  how big are some of you bluegill and smallmouths?

Age 1 -  5 to 8 inches
Age 2 - 9 to 11 inches
Age 3 - 11 to 12 inches
Age 4 - 13 to 13 1/2 inches
Age 5- 13 1/2 to 14  inches
Age 6 - 14 to 15 inches

I'll come back to give you ages and sizes on the bluegills and smallies. I need to get a northern and largemouth painted in the next couple of hours.

Edit:

Feed trained smallmouth:

Age 1 - 4 to 5 inches
Age 2  - 6 to 9 inches
Age 3 -  10 10 12 inches
Age 4 -  12 tp 14 inches
Age 5 -  13 to 16 inches


Feed trained bluegills

Age 1-  4 to 5 inches
Age 2-  6 to 8 inches
Age 3 - 8 to 9 inches
Age 4 -  9 1/2 to 10 1/4 inches
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: wile.e.1 on Mar 19, 2011, 08:54 AM
Age 1 -  5 to 8 inches
Age 2 - 9 to 11 inches
Age 3 - 11 to 12 inches
Age 4 - 13 to 13 inches
Age 5- 13 1/2 to 14  inches
Age 6 - 14 to 15 inches

  Mornin taxid.... I was just lookin around reading some posts and found yours and just had to drop ya a line. I have a very similar setup, but only have 3 ponds, size and depth are almost exact to yours.  A few years back I started stocking 1 pond with only big perch, trying to keep a good balance of males and pregnant females. All fish were at least 11".  I used perch I caught through the ice ,basically because every time I brought home some keepers (I was VERY selective)  as soon as I put them in the sink to wash off, they would start kicken. So I ran out to one of the ponds with my auger , punched a hole and they swam right down.   The reason I used only big fish was to see if they spawned .  Well they did.  I waited to to the next spring, and caught some Lil guys...maybe5 inches or so. So it's cool to see that they spawned. Anyway...What I was gonna tell you was that I think , at least where I am from, the growth rate might be a bit smaller.  I feed mine minnows and I have also caught some with small sunfish in there mouths. Thanks for the interesting post.  My setup is much less technical....but it is fun seeing how good perch do in backyard setups.  Later this spring, after ice out I will try to post some pics of mine
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: fishing mechanic on Mar 19, 2011, 11:52 AM
Great bunch of info. here, My question is.....do you have knowledge on the ratio of males to females in the perch population, is it different in a natural setting as compared to controlled?
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: Raquettedacker on Mar 19, 2011, 11:57 AM
On average how long do the live and which one lives longer, male or female??
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: PJDNYfish on Mar 19, 2011, 06:48 PM
cool stuff.. how large do the smallies and bluegill get in your ponds
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 19, 2011, 11:55 PM


  Mornin taxid.... I was just lookin around reading some posts and found yours and just had to drop ya a line. I have a very similar setup, but only have 3 ponds, size and depth are almost exact to yours.  A few years back I started stocking 1 pond with only big perch, trying to keep a good balance of males and pregnant females. All fish were at least 11".  I used perch I caught through the ice ,basically because every time I brought home some keepers (I was VERY selective)  as soon as I put them in the sink to wash off, they would start kicken. So I ran out to one of the ponds with my auger , punched a hole and they swam right down.   The reason I used only big fish was to see if they spawned .  Well they did.  I waited to to the next spring, and caught some Lil guys...maybe5 inches or so. So it's cool to see that they spawned. Anyway...What I was gonna tell you was that I think , at least where I am from, the growth rate might be a bit smaller.  I feed mine minnows and I have also caught some with small sunfish in there mouths. Thanks for the interesting post.  My setup is much less technical....but it is fun seeing how good perch do in backyard setups.  Later this spring, after ice out I will try to post some pics of mine

My growth rates for my yellow perch are as good as they are due to two things:

1.) My fish are feed trained. That is they are trained to eat commercial pellets that have a conversion rate of about 2 lbs. of pellets for every pound of gain. Natural feed is mostly water and only has conversion rate of about 10 bs. of feed per one pound of gain. Fish fed as many pellets as they can eat on a daily basis  will usually outgrow and can be held at a higher carrying capacity than their wild counterparts.  

Typically my pellet fed fish are 2 to 4 years ahead in growth rates of their wild counterparts. Only two drawbacks are faster growing fish have shorter lifespans and for some reason my female yellow perch never get the huge ovary size I see in perch caught in the local natural lakes. It may be something is missing in their diet.

2.) I select only the female fish for my may grow out pond as they grow the fastest, get the largest, and this also prevents too many mouths to feed which if left on natural feed will circumvent good fast growth. Sexing yellow perch is easy from fall to just before the females drop their eggs.

Most likely you perch in a pond setting will never reach their full potential if you are planting both males and females. On the other hand even if you are and you have largemouth bass the bass may wipe them out in a pond setting.

Same goes for my bluegills although in the case of that species I only plant males as the male bluegill grows the fastest and gets the largest.

My fish are produced in the back ponds where I can control reproduction and seine and drain them annually.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 20, 2011, 12:00 AM
Great bunch of info. here, My question is.....do you have knowledge on the ratio of males to females in the perch population, is it different in a natural setting as compared to controlled?

As I said in a previous post the goal in my grow out pond is ALL females.  Unfortunately I did drop one male in there accidentally when sorting a couple of years ago.  Another way to control perch numbers in a pond is to place brush in the shallow water next to the shore in bundles spaced evenly around the pond. The females will lay their eggs on the brush and one can periodically remove any eggs one sees as soon as they appear.  I do this every year due to that one male I dropped in.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 20, 2011, 12:03 AM
On average how long do the live and which one lives longer, male or female??

Not sure as I sell the females when they are about 4 to 6 years in age. I've been told they should live up to 11 years in age but that is wild slower growing fish that may live longer.

Many of the perch I sell to BPS end up being pike or musky food not by BPS' choice.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: eyepoker on Mar 20, 2011, 05:16 AM
MOBY PERCH!!!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: pikeslayer on Mar 20, 2011, 02:46 PM
is there any way you have control the water temp or anything or do you just let it be normal
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 20, 2011, 06:14 PM
is there any way you have control the water temp or anything or do you just let it be normal

Outside no. Inside yes.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: pocketperch on Mar 21, 2011, 12:19 AM
Great pics!
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: Aaron072 on Mar 21, 2011, 09:48 AM
looks like a fun hobby ;D
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: davejohnson2 on Mar 21, 2011, 08:12 PM
As I said in a previous post the goal in my grow out pond is ALL females.  Unfortunately I did drop one male in there accidentally when sorting a couple of years ago.  Another way to control perch numbers in a pond is to place brush in the shallow water next to the shore in bundles spaced evenly around the pond. The females will lay their eggs on the brush and one can periodically remove any eggs one sees as soon as they appear.  I do this every year due to that one male I dropped in.

man that one male must be having a good time  ;D
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 21, 2011, 09:23 PM
man that one male must be having a good time  ;D

Hopefully he died with a smile on his face.  :D
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: fishing mechanic on Mar 22, 2011, 02:25 AM
Outside no. Inside yes.

Not quite sure what ya mean by that comment? Do ya also have some perch that are strictly grown indoors with water temp. controlled also? Hmmm. gets me thinking! :o
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 22, 2011, 06:43 AM

Not quite sure what ya mean by that comment? Do ya also have some perch that are strictly grown indoors with water temp. controlled also? Hmmm. gets me thinking! :o

I started bringing in some young of year feed trained perch that I had hatched and feed trained in a pond this winter into one of two recirculating aquaculture systems I build for the basement. That way I get a few more inches on them over the winter before planting them into the two outside ponds in the spring. There's virtually no growth under the ice in the winter so this allows me to get them up to size a little faster.

If you're interested, my system is modeled after the system in the following book that is available on Amazon.com for about $25.00 by Steven Van Gorder. Everything you need to build the system is available at a local building supply store except for polystyrene plastic sheets which are available at plastic supplier.

If anyone is interested in building one I'd be happy to help. You could easily hold and feed a 100 lbs. of minnows in one of these systems. Probably spawn them in another tank.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/book.jpg)

My tanks are only about 6 foot vs. the 12' swimming pool in the book, and I've made some modifications, as in putting the rotating biofilter in a separate tank vs. in the fish tank itself. I also made a center drain and spray bar that makes the tank self cleaning (the spray bar causes the water to rotate with a circular flow and automatically removes feces and uneaten feed down the center drain).

If anyone is interested in building one I'd be happy to help. You could easily hold and feed a 100 lbs. of minnows in one of these systems.

Original set up before moving the biofilter out of the fish tank and doing some modifications. A small pump pulls water from the top of the clarifier tank to turn the rotating biofilter by dropping water on baffles in the center of the drum. The rotating biofilter has 600 square feet of surface area for nitrifying bacteria to grow on.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/RAS007.jpg)

A view of the clarifier which is nothing more than a 55 gallon drum packed with deer fence netting to collect suspended and settleable solids from the fish tank.  A siphon made of PVC perpetually pulls in fish tank water to the bottom.

If you curious what the iron tank is on the right it's an iron filter I rented. However I wasn't very impressed and built a mechanical iron filter myself which was simply two 55 gallon drums side by side with the water being pumped to one and going back to the other via a siphon. In one drum was filter material where the iron got trapped in. Crystal clear water in 24 hrs.!

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/RAS014.jpg)


This may look complicated to some of you but it's really a simple concept. Basically a large scale aquarium. If I can do it anyone can as I can be mechanically challenged at times. The hardest part was building the biofilter as it was a PITA to cut the fiberglass roofing plates and line them up!



Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: Fishtail on Mar 22, 2011, 06:30 PM
I live in Michigan and we have the yellow perch but we also have what I call lake Michigan perch. I always wondered if they are a different species? You can tell them apart when you catch them. They are whiter and they come in bigger schools and you mostly catch them over rocks when spawning. I just thought i would ask if you had any kinda info on that. Thanks i like the info you have been giving use its very interesting.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 22, 2011, 07:25 PM
I live in Michigan and we have the yellow perch but we also have what I call lake Michigan perch. I always wondered if they are a different species? You can tell them apart when you catch them. They are whiter and they come in bigger schools and you mostly catch them over rocks when spawning. I just thought i would ask if you had any kinda info on that. Thanks i like the info you have been giving use its very interesting.

My perch are of Lake Erie stock 30 + generations removed.  No difference as far as I know in appearance other than environmental color differences you observed. The perch probably spawn on the rocks due to a lack of weed growth. Next best thing.  Mine do fine in a pond environment or a tank.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: fishing mechanic on Mar 22, 2011, 09:45 PM
Great info. taxid, thanks a ton for all your valuable feedback. I'm getting very interested in this operation. Given the size of my two properties, (2 and 4 acres), I could never have an operation like yours...but a smaller scale coud be possible..maybe.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 23, 2011, 12:29 AM
Great info. taxid, thanks a ton for all your valuable feedback. I'm getting very interested in this operation. Given the size of my two properties, (2 and 4 acres), I could never have an operation like yours...but a smaller scale coud be possible..maybe.

My property is only 3 acres total. Each back pond is 1/10th acre and the front pond is .62 acres. Small ponds are easier to manage, require less water, and easier to drain if necessary.

The pond directly behind the house grew out brooks to over 6 lbs., browns to about 12 lbs., and a rainbow just over 9 lbs. by running in a well 7 months of the year.

Here's a brown my twin is holding:

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/brt19-31001-1.jpg)
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: steeda9 on Mar 23, 2011, 11:24 AM
great pics and info
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: finnie on Mar 23, 2011, 01:12 PM
this post is great  ;D
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 23, 2011, 03:07 PM
I posted this before but for all you brook trout lovers you've got to have an orgasm over the colors of this brook trout that came out of the pond. I fed them a diet with a feed additive to enhance the colors.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/bkt09harvest003.jpg)
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: perchgypsy on Mar 23, 2011, 08:21 PM
that brookie is a beauty been lookin for one like that
nice pics and great info on the perch
thanks for sharing
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: H.T. on Mar 23, 2011, 08:22 PM
very nice info on this thread 8)
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: Huntny30 on Mar 23, 2011, 08:35 PM
Yes, awesome info, thanks...
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: perchgypsy on Mar 24, 2011, 05:06 AM
how old was the brook trout ?
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: Aaron072 on Mar 24, 2011, 09:37 AM
 georgous  brookie ;D ;D
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: Fishtail on Mar 24, 2011, 03:57 PM
Thanks I wasn't for sure if they where one in the same.   
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 24, 2011, 04:10 PM
how old was the brook trout ?

Believe it or not only 2 years old at around 18 inches. I had some 2 years olds as big as 19 1/4. I had some parasite and bacterial  issues in the pond that fall and treated the pond with a minimum amount of potassium permanganate and ended up killing most of them. (At least I was able to scoop them up and sell them to other taxidermists).

I thought it was necessary because I was losing two or three a week. Turns out I probably should have just left them alone and just planted more initially to compensate for losses.  Brook trout are very touchy compared to browns and rainbows.

If I would have kept them for one more year they would have been in the 22 - 24 inch range and 5 to 6 lbs.  Just like the government I do more damage by doing something.

If I raise trout again it will probably be in a barn in large recirculating tanks where I can keep parasites and pathogens out and control the water quality and temperature better.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: monkeyman2269 on Mar 24, 2011, 04:11 PM
u should raise some muskies and stock upstate ny creeks with um plz lol
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 24, 2011, 04:12 PM
u should raise some muskies and stock upstate ny creeks with um plz lol

Why would I want to do that? I don't have a death wish!  ;D
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: monkeyman2269 on Mar 24, 2011, 04:15 PM
why would u have a death wish just contact dec and become a stocker
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 24, 2011, 04:20 PM
why would u have a death wish just contact dec and become a stocker

Putting musky in trout streams!  :o
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: monkeyman2269 on Mar 24, 2011, 04:22 PM
the upstate streams off the lake lol not the brooks in the mountains we only have lake run fish
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 24, 2011, 04:41 PM
the upstate streams off the lake lol not the brooks in the mountains we only have lake run fish

Oh I see.

Actually to sell fish across state lines in the Great Lakes states has become an expensive proposition due to the VHS hysteria. And no offense to New York, your state went off the deep end. New York wants certain fish species tested for diseases that don't even effect them. Like testing bass for diseases only trout get and vice versa. I'm thinking your DEC just wants the private sector to go away, as the private sector can grow fish more cost effectively, and could put them out of a job -- if politicians find that out with all the budget problems.  
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: monkeyman2269 on Mar 24, 2011, 04:44 PM
you are right my freind the dec is incompitent i was going to school to be one then they just slashed all there budgets and stuff so its not even worth it no more and it doesnt help our sportsman is almost 90 bucks
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: JiggerMan on Mar 24, 2011, 05:53 PM
Putting musky in trout streams!  :o

in Pa I was fly fishing in spring creek outside bellefonte (its a no kill stream since the 50's i believe) when i saw something i had to do a double take on.  the spot i was at was a section that you had to use barbless and you could not set foot in the stream.  I was eyeing some trout activity up stream and started to walk the shore up to them.  when i got there I noticed that i was not the only thing watching them.  there was about a mid 30 inch range tiger musky  looking at them to.  nearest place a tiger could of come from was at least 2o miles away.  I told a PFBC guy about it and he did not believe me so i actually took him up there and had to show him that it was there, he acted surprised to see it there.  I say surprised because I told some other guys about it later in the day and they said that it would not surprise them.  i asked them why that would be and they said that they had heard that the PFBC was rumored to have secretly put some tigers into the stream as a way to control the trout population. 



Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: JiggerMan on Mar 24, 2011, 05:59 PM
Believe it or not only 2 years old at around 18 inches. I had some 2 years olds as big as 19 1/4. I had some parasite and bacterial  issues in the pond that fall and treated the pond with a minimum amount of potassium permanganate and ended up killing most of them. (At least Iwas able to scoop them up and sell them to othertaxidermists).

I thought it was necessary because I was losing two or three a week. Turns out I probably should have just left them alone and just planted initially compensate for losses.  Brook trout are very touchy compared to browns and rainbows.

If I would have kept them for one more year they would have been in the 22 - 24 inch range and 5 to 6 lbs.  Just like the government I do more damage by doing something.

If I raise trout again it will probably be in a barn in large recirculating tanks where I can keep parasites and pathogens out and control the water quality and temperature better.

that potassium permangenate  messes with them pretty good in a flow through system as well.  we use it to treat some external parasites on our trout as well.   We tend to give them a pretty good dose when we do too.  Our browns seem to fair the worst as mortalities are concerned after a treatment. 
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 24, 2011, 06:14 PM
in Pa I was fly fishing in spring creek outside bellefonte (its a no kill stream since the 50's i believe) when i saw something i had to do a double take on.  the spot i was at was a section that you had to use barbless and you could not set foot in the stream.  I was eyeing some trout activity up stream and started to walk the shore up to them.  when i got there I noticed that i was not the only thing watching them.  there was about a mid 30 inch range tiger musky  looking at them to.  nearest place a tiger could of come from was at least 2o miles away.  I told a PFBC guy about it and he did not believe me so i actually took him up there and had to show him that it was there, he acted surprised to see it there.  I say surprised because I told some other guys about it later in the day and they said that it would not surprise them.  i asked them why that would be and they said that they had heard that the PFBC was rumored to have secretly put some tigers into the stream as a way to control the trout population. 



Why would they want to control trout?
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 24, 2011, 06:19 PM
that potassium permangenate  messes with them pretty good in a flow through system as well.  we use it to treat some external parasites on our trout as well.   We tend to give them a pretty good dose when we do too.  Our browns seem to fair the worst as mortalities are concerned after a treatment.  

Actually the pond is flow through albeit nowhere near what a raceway is. 100,000 gallons in the pond and 64,800 goes through the pond in 24 hrs. I gave them the lowest concentration possible after a jar test of the lowest amount that would turn the water pink, and it was still to much for the trout. I'm thinking it was 2 ppm.

What was disappointing is according to the jar test that amount should have been strong enough to last for the time duration required but it didn't as the pink color faded quickly. There must have been more organic matter in the pond than I realized. The flow was shut down for the treatment and I had a Kasco 1/2 hp surface aerator going at the same time in case of ensuing low D.O.

Most of the fish came to the top and were very stressed so I netted them out. Perhaps they would have recovered?  

Never had any issues with brown trout in the pond. Outstanding growth and health. No signs of stress whatsoever. But I raise them alone. They are real bullies to the smaller brook trout.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: JiggerMan on Mar 24, 2011, 06:30 PM
Why would they want to control trout?

 My personal theory as well as well as the opinions of some of the guys I know was to improve the health of the trout. the stream has a ridiculous amount of trout in it, and there is two or three of the states trout hatcheries on the stream so there is a good amount of escapee's that get in as well. the trout were starting to get physically thin because they were to many mouths to feed and not enough food in the stream. the tigers would eat a good number of thetrout in there so that would of been a way to control the trout numbers and at the same time if it ended up being a mistake the tigers could not reproduce and would eventually work themselves out of the equation.  

I believe i heard that the number of trout per water acre was in the hundreds.    I will try and find out what the numbers back then were.    
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 24, 2011, 09:52 PM
you are right my freind the dec is incompitent i was going to school to be one then they just slashed all there budgets and stuff so its not even worth it no more and it doesnt help our sportsman is almost 90 bucks

I doubt the entire DEC is incompetent but I was told one individual made the decision to test for everything under the sun, and when asked why by Dr. Eagre of APHIS, his response was, "Because I can."
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: fishing mechanic on Mar 24, 2011, 11:53 PM
Oh I see.

Actually to sell fish across state lines in the Great Lakes states has become an expensive proposition due to the VHS hysteria. And no offense to New York, your state went off the deep end. New York wants certain fish species tested for diseases that don't even effect them. Like testing bass for diseases only trout get and vice versa. I'm thinking your DEC just wants the private sector to go away as the private sector can grow fish more cost effectively, and could put them out of a job if politicians find that out with all the budget problems. 

It's not our DEC that wishes for all of NYS's crazy reg.s...For the most part, they all come from uninformed puppets in legislation, that have no clue regarding the science of our wildlife. Just looking at numbers!
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 25, 2011, 07:31 PM
It's not our DEC that wishes for all of NYS's crazy reg.s...For the most part, they all come from uninformed puppets in legislation, that have no clue regarding the science of our wildlife. Just looking at numbers!

Yes you can always count on ignorant politicians to do knee jerk reactions but APHIS shares some of the responsibility. As far as we are concerned they acted too fast and put a severe burden on the aquaculture industry.

It's now believed by some Cornell researchers that VHS has been in the Great Lakes for a long time, and the fish have pretty much either developed an immunity to the virus, or it has become a facultative pathogen (always there but does no harm unless the fish is stressed or in a weakend condition)

I've heard of the MASSIVE fish VHS kills, but never saw pictures to show they were as MASSIVE as they said they were, and one source says that in reality they only killed about 10 percent of the fish in the general area.  The pictures I did see of the fish kills showed the mortalities were mostly rough fish such as drum and gobies. A published study will come out soon, and it's been revealed thatfish have tested positive for VHS in all the major Great Lakes ports, but have no clinical signs of the disease. (Not sick).

If VHS was such as dire thing that would wipe out all out fish stocks, why aren't there any more fish kills? If testing fish farms is the answer to stop its spread, why has there yet to be one positive on a fish farm?
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: davejohnson2 on Mar 25, 2011, 07:33 PM
DEC sucks,  my neighbor raises bass, the state buys them buy requires 50% be killed and tested  >:(, he doesnt do that any more because he doesnt want to raise fish only to have half of them killed
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 25, 2011, 07:43 PM
DEC sucks,  my neighbor raises bass, the state buys them buy requires 50% be killed and tested  >:(, he doesnt do that any more because he doesnt want to raise fish only to have half of them killed

How many is he selling? Unless DEC has some rules of their own that out out of the world of pathology guide lines, he shouldn't have to kill more than 60 per lot.  But maybe he is not selling many? I do know of fish farms that threw in the towel and are no longer in business because of the testing expenses.

I had to kill 60 yellow perch one year to sell 89.  Fortunately I was making enough money on the fish sale to justify it, but it was a shame to kill sixty 13 to 15 inch perch to sell 89.  The cost for testing for me last year for one lot was $300.00 but would be at least double if we had a vet trained to take the samples here. Fortunately we don't and the state is doing it at no charge for now.

Many fish farmers have numerous lots to test and costs run into the thousands of dollars. And like I said no VHS on the farms!

APHIS actually wanted us to test more than once a year and even pay vet to come out to the farm on an additional trip to "observe" the fish before they were transported! Talk about people that have no clue on what it takes to run a business.  One trout farm estimated the cost would have exceeded his profits for the year not to mention the fish that would have had to be sacrificed.  Fortunately we all fought it and they backed off.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: davejohnson2 on Mar 25, 2011, 08:05 PM
he had 4 ponds full of bass, about 60 yards by 30 yards. they took truck loads but he had to pay to have 1/2 tested
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 25, 2011, 09:22 PM
he had 4 ponds full of bass, about 60 yards by 30 yards. they took truck loads but he had to pay to have 1/2 tested

My guess is the bass were brood size fish and he only had 120 in each pond, hence why half had to be sacrificed for testing.  (60)

I had a situation where Bass Pro Shops wanted all the smallmouth I could come up with. Unfortunately I could only come up with 60 large fish and the testing required 60 fish needed to be sacrificed for testing. So much for that sale!
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: fishing mechanic on Mar 25, 2011, 09:52 PM
he had 4 ponds full of bass, about 60 yards by 30 yards. they took truck loads but he had to pay to have 1/2 tested

That is just blatantly pathetic and typical governmental abuse towards an individual that obviously seems to be one of very few people devoted and passionate with this "hobby". :-\
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: harenk12 on Mar 14, 2013, 10:53 AM
Im looking to purchase some yellow perch for mounting curious if your still selling and if so how can i get a hold of you?
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Mar 16, 2013, 02:55 PM
Im looking to purchase some yellow perch for mounting curious if your still selling and if so how can i get a hold of you?

You can P.M. me. However I won't sell any under 14 inches and this year most are running just under that, as I sold most of the fish that would have been 14 + now to Bass Pros Shops two years ago at 12 to 13 inches.

I also have a long list of folks that want them. After temporarily moving 175 between 13 and 13 3/4 inches in the last 4 days to a different pond, I will be running a 200 foot seine through the pond next week and may come up with some 14 inch fish. I'm a licensed private fish farm if anyone is wondering...


Here are some pictures from yesterday. All were removed hook and line so far.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/IMG_0689_zpseadae729.jpg)

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/IMG_0690_zps58721b55.jpg)

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/IMG_0688_zpsb3cb1cee.jpg)

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/IMG_0687_zpsed94347a.jpg)



Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: kb on Mar 16, 2013, 04:55 PM
Beautiful fish.  Id have to put that on a wall.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: ClearCreek on Mar 16, 2013, 06:32 PM
you are right my freind the dec is incompitent i was going to school to be one then they just slashed all there budgets and stuff so its not even worth it no more and it doesnt help our sportsman is almost 90 bucks

I always like these posts that claim the DEQ, F&W, whatever, is incompetent, etc. and the person posting the message can't spell, and in this case can't even put words together to make a complete sentence, or a sentence that makes any sense. 

ClearCreek
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: pot-belly-pike on Oct 17, 2013, 12:21 AM
SWEET    is all I got to say '

Thanks for posting
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: chrony59 on Oct 17, 2013, 04:35 AM
Whats the price for one of those beauties ? :o
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: devo on Oct 17, 2013, 05:59 AM
Hopefully the ice derby cheaters aren't buying these fish to enter >:(
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: tomturkey on Oct 18, 2013, 06:50 AM
We have some pretty nice jumbo yellow perch in the private lake where we live. All the fish in the lake are from plantings and natural reproduction from those plants.

I have a 14 1/2 incher on the wall. We have caught a few that approach that size. The taxidermist that mounted mine said he had mounted a couple of 16 inchers.

Last week we finally got into them for the first time since last spring. The fillets off the one that approached 14 inches weighed 9+ ounces. The fillets from the 10 fish we caught that night weighed in just short of 3 lbs. We put around 7 lbs of fillets in the freezer last week.

The lake is man made out of a swamp. I doubt it it averages over 7 foot deep. The water temps get real bad in the summer. In 2012 I took temps in the hole we normally catch the perch. 85* on the surface and 80* at 8 foot.

That summer we had a bad die off of the pike which has caused us to lose the predator base that kept the bluegill population in check so now we are getting over run with dink gills.

The surprising thing is that some of the walleyes they have planted have actually survived. Last week we caught  a half dozen 10 inchers.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Oct 18, 2013, 10:33 PM
Whats the price for one of those beauties ? :o

PM me. I'm not comfortable appearing to use the site as a selling place. Next harvest won't be until March or April when they are full of eggs.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Oct 18, 2013, 10:36 PM
We have some pretty nice jumbo yellow perch in the private lake where we live. All the fish in the lake are from plantings and natural reproduction from those plants.

I have a 14 1/2 incher on the wall. We have caught a few that approach that size. The taxidermist that mounted mine said he had mounted a couple of 16 inchers.

Last week we finally got into them for the first time since last spring. The fillets off the one that approached 14 inches weighed 9+ ounces. The fillets from the 10 fish we caught that night weighed in just short of 3 lbs. We put around 7 lbs of fillets in the freezer last week.

The lake is man made out of a swamp. I doubt it it averages over 7 foot deep. The water temps get real bad in the summer. In 2012 I took temps in the hole we normally catch the perch. 85* on the surface and 80* at 8 foot.

That summer we had a bad die off of the pike which has caused us to lose the predator base that kept the bluegill population in check so now we are getting over run with dink gills.

The surprising thing is that some of the walleyes they have planted have actually survived. Last week we caught  a half dozen 10 inchers.

The summer of 2012 was a hot one for sure. My big perch sometimes just sulk on the bottom when it gets really hot and won't come up for feed. Interestingly the ones under 11 inches aren't bothered by the tepid water.

Fish can surprise you such as the walleyes you mention. I've heard of trout surviving in warm water when they shouldn't have.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: perchmasterson on Oct 19, 2013, 06:20 PM
(http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab132/perchmasterson/DSC03682_zpsde843d6b.jpg) (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/perchmasterson/media/DSC03682_zpsde843d6b.jpg.html)


male or female?












(http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab132/perchmasterson/DSC03686_zpsaab8b762.jpg) (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/perchmasterson/media/DSC03686_zpsaab8b762.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Oct 20, 2013, 05:52 PM
Looks like a female to me! Those eggs are really light though.  Or are those fatty deposits?
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Oct 20, 2013, 05:53 PM
Hopefully the ice derby cheaters aren't buying these fish to enter >:(

I haven't sold any to anyone on this site. Only taxidermists.

And the fact that I only sell them packed with eggs in April or so probably precludes many from buying them to cheat on an ice fishing derby.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: gotabig1 on Oct 23, 2013, 09:32 AM
This is an excellent thread. Did you post pics of some of your Brook Trout over on IS a couple years back? I remember someone from Indiana posting some monsters caught through the ice and they were some beauties as well. Either way, looking at big fish pics never gets old. Thanks.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Oct 25, 2013, 07:27 PM
This is an excellent thread. Did you post pics of some of your Brook Trout over on IS a couple years back? I remember someone from Indiana posting some monsters caught through the ice and they were some beauties as well. Either way, looking at big fish pics never gets old. Thanks.

Yes I think that was me.  Like this one?

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/bkt09harvest003.jpg) (http://s11.photobucket.com/user/CecilBaird1/media/bkt09harvest003.jpg.html)

Here's a big one. I was tickled to find this on the Internet the other day from my pond several years ago.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/bktimages_zpsb028d9d5.jpg) (http://s11.photobucket.com/user/CecilBaird1/media/bktimages_zpsb028d9d5.jpg.html)

 

Found some more pictures of trout out of the pond.

Several browns to 9 lbs. that some friends came over and caught. I'm in the process of weighing an measuring them before freezing whole to be sold later.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/F1BA_zps9cddbb09.jpg) (http://s11.photobucket.com/user/CecilBaird1/media/F1BA_zps9cddbb09.jpg.html)

A chunky bluegill:

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/IMG_0363.jpg) (http://s11.photobucket.com/user/CecilBaird1/media/IMG_0363.jpg.html)

Good genetics from the get go:

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/IMG_9152.jpg) (http://s11.photobucket.com/user/CecilBaird1/media/IMG_9152.jpg.html)

A brown and bow my first time at growing out trout at least 10 years ago.  Haven't grown out bows in years as I prefer to concentrate on brooks and browns as rainbows are easy for my taxidermist customers to find.

(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/CecilBaird1/cecil2fish-1.jpg) (http://s11.photobucket.com/user/CecilBaird1/media/cecil2fish-1.jpg.html)

Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: wally13 on Oct 26, 2013, 02:09 AM
wow nice perch nice post
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Oct 26, 2013, 11:41 AM
wow nice perch nice post

Thanks. Of course catching these fish of these sizes is not as difficult as public water due to the fact that these are small bodies of water, the fish are hand fed, and the ponds are managed for trophy fish.

I hope to have some fresh pictures today. A taxidermist from Oklahoma has ordered two brooks for molding, and another taxidemist fish specialist from Indiana is coming up to catch and buy at least two brooks and possibly bluegills and yellow perch.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: gotabig1 on Oct 26, 2013, 01:18 PM
All beautiful fish. I love the shape and color of that Bluegill too. Does their size and color also differ w/ sex? I always wonder why some get to be almost dark purple and others are more bright orange on the belly. I assumed that the "Bull" gets that slight protrusion above the eye.
Title: Re: Male and Female Yellow Perch
Post by: taxid on Oct 26, 2013, 03:16 PM
All beautiful fish. I love the shape and color of that Bluegill too. Does their size and color also differ w/ sex? I always wonder why some get to be almost dark purple and others are more bright orange on the belly. I assumed that the "Bull" gets that slight protrusion above the eye.

Males bluegill do have a slightly different body shape than females but the best way to tell them apart is by the coloration during spawning and the length of the ear tab and black nape scales. The males have the black scales that radiate behind the head and an ear tab that is longer than it is wide although this will vary somewhat.

The  bright orange bellied fish are males along with the purple irridescence and darker colors of a spawning male.

The bull protrusion is just an older well fed male that has slowed down in linear growth but still filling out vertically.