Jay K
12/2/2010 5:57:00 PMNice report and thanks for the pics.
The worms are pretty disgusting... It would put me off perch from American.
Here in E Washington, I like to pickup my perch ice fishing Silver. I picked up my taste for yellow perch fishing Lake Michigan; I'm quite happy they aren't well regarded here and thus have no creel limit. I don't recall finding parasites last winter, but certainly found big brown trout out of Medical Lake infested with leeches. Leeches would be safe for us. Tapeworms not so much. Roundworms also not so much in the fun department.
The worms are pretty disgusting... It would put me off perch from American.
Here in E Washington, I like to pickup my perch ice fishing Silver. I picked up my taste for yellow perch fishing Lake Michigan; I'm quite happy they aren't well regarded here and thus have no creel limit. I don't recall finding parasites last winter, but certainly found big brown trout out of Medical Lake infested with leeches. Leeches would be safe for us. Tapeworms not so much. Roundworms also not so much in the fun department.
bionic_one
12/2/2010 6:05:00 PMOk, so the worms are gross, but if the fish is fully cooked (say 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees) is there any danger from these things?
Toni
12/2/2010 6:12:00 PMVery nice report. I like to eat perch, also, but I want them big enough to fillet and skin.
stillwater
12/2/2010 6:34:00 PMLove perch, some of the best eating fish around, and fun catching on ultra lite!
snake7676
12/2/2010 7:05:00 PMNice , thats a gross looking goo of stuff from the fish. I hope none of my fish from there have that in it ! lol thanks for the report.
G-Man
12/2/2010 7:27:00 PMI've found that same type of parasite in perch that I've caught in lakes throughout the state. Most folks don't seem to notice them and think they are part of the fish's innards. I find them, however, in the body cavity and not in the intestinal tract and if you do a proper fillet job, you'd never know they were there. Never found any in the meat and haven't come down with a case of worms yet so cooking must have killed any that slipped under the radar.
Perch bloat worse than bass when coming up from 30 or more feet so this time of the year anything you bring up to the surface is pretty much dead unless you fizz it. Besides, small perch are easily converted to bait/chum.
Perch have infested almost all the lakes in this state. If you are looking for some of the more popular westside lakes with large perch try Sammamish, Stevens and Sawyer.
Perch bloat worse than bass when coming up from 30 or more feet so this time of the year anything you bring up to the surface is pretty much dead unless you fizz it. Besides, small perch are easily converted to bait/chum.
Perch have infested almost all the lakes in this state. If you are looking for some of the more popular westside lakes with large perch try Sammamish, Stevens and Sawyer.
bionic_one
12/2/2010 7:59:00 PMOk, so the worms are gross, but if the fish is fully cooked (say 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees) is there any danger from these things?
BMGW
12/2/2010 8:39:00 PMThe two best perch lakes in Western Washington are #1 Ozette, you will find the largest perch in the state there, and #2 is Mason Lake, it's loaded with them!
cielowalker38
12/2/2010 9:23:00 PMThank all of you, so far, for the great comments. In short, I'm a Michigander who has fished perch for many years. The parasites are unattractive, but I am not aware of any worm phyla in North America that can endure "cooking temperatures". That is, I remove the worms and cyst before adding tartar sauce =). Again, almost everything we eat has parasites, and eating cooked parasites is almost always harmless.
Big thanks for the lake suggestions. I will try them and report back to you on this site. Thank you!
What does it mean to "fizz" a small perch brought up from the depths?
Big thanks for the lake suggestions. I will try them and report back to you on this site. Thank you!
What does it mean to "fizz" a small perch brought up from the depths?
Jay K
12/2/2010 9:23:00 PMGotta say, that basket of perch picture makes me happy. Can't wait till our lakes ice over.
'OL GREY DOG
12/3/2010 6:47:00 AMBlack Lake and Offut here in Olympia are year round lakes that have "good" #s and size perch ...Black will give up some nice crappie and some reallyyy nice trout(shhh) bottom fishing at those depths...remember only 2 above 14 in!!!.....
there's a pic of a perch taken at Offut in the fish ID /pic thread....
let me know if your headed down this way......DOG
there's a pic of a perch taken at Offut in the fish ID /pic thread....
let me know if your headed down this way......DOG
afk
12/3/2010 6:55:00 AMGreat report. A picture is worth a thousand words. You sure know how to get the comments flowing! Thanks
randy n' lizzie
12/3/2010 7:34:00 AMGreat report Cielo. I have been fishing American and Lake Washington pretty hard for the last eight months and have to say American is my go-to lake for perch. Great launch on the north end and lots of different species of fish. The American Lake perch tend to be a little larger than Lake Washington perch, at least this year.
Cooking your fish will kill the parasites as cooking temperatures denature the proteins in the animal. To my knowledge, life after protein denaturation has been demonstrated only in microbes.
Were you jigging? How did you find the perch? Thanx again for the report!!!!
Cooking your fish will kill the parasites as cooking temperatures denature the proteins in the animal. To my knowledge, life after protein denaturation has been demonstrated only in microbes.
Were you jigging? How did you find the perch? Thanx again for the report!!!!
cielowalker38
12/3/2010 7:52:00 AMAgain,...more thanks. I just watched the "fizzing" video and was both curious and impressed. I'm going to look into that bigtime as it would be valuable for lakers and burbot,...though I release few burbot =). Somewhere there has to be some work done in exploration of any long-term effects of this,...if any. Looked great!
Also, I'm looking into the lakes mentioned. Love the new area adventure, and always enjoy the lakes when the rivers are blown.
Thanks to all.
mw
Also, I'm looking into the lakes mentioned. Love the new area adventure, and always enjoy the lakes when the rivers are blown.
Thanks to all.
mw
DannyHoey
12/3/2010 11:58:00 AMIf your average perch was 9", i don't think your gonna find a lake that consistently produces bigger!
rtk
12/3/2010 1:32:00 PMwe catch a lot of perch in the 10-11" range in Island lake by Shelton. They are really good eating and nt as many parasites!
trapperjack
12/3/2010 8:08:00 PMNice fish! I agree with others that in this state, at least this side of the mountains, 9in is a good size. As for the parasites, I had a similar issue with the fish in a lake I fish. I did some research on line and if you cook it good or freeze it, then it is edible. As a matter of fact they did a study on Salmon in washington and every sample they took had parasites. I just make sure not to tell the wife :)
Brianh
12/3/2010 8:56:00 PMI have fished both American and Washington for perch a very long time, and have found that in Washington the bigger perch seem to be located close to the schools, but not in the big schools of perch. We have caught so many perch that were in the 12" range with a few pushing slightly past 14". So, if on Washington and you are catching lots of small perch, move slightly away from the school and see if the size picks up a bit. Works for me.
Why2Fish
12/3/2010 8:57:00 PMThe parasite is probably an immature stage of the broad fish tapeworm D. latum. Google up D. latum for pics.
natetreat
12/3/2010 9:22:00 PMI think that one of the reasons we have such small perch out here is that not many people target them. They aren't planted, and are naturally reproducing. As a kid I used to catch perch and bluegill from Plummer Lake in Centralia and Deep Lake at Millersivania. The majority of fishing I did was every day after class. I would eat 'em all, large and small. After a couple years, the fish got bigger. When the population is controlled, the fish get bigger. I raise tropical fish at home, and it's easily evidenced through my fish populations. When you put say, ten fish, that usually grow up to an adult size of six inches in a ten gallon tank, it doesn't matter how much you feed 'em, they release anti-growth stuff in the water and they will end up three to four inches and stunted. I believe the same goes for blue gill and perch. It's the same with trout, I do a lot of alpine lakes fishing where a seven year old brookie will only max out at 12 inches. But you can't cast a spinner without bringing one in, they're so numerous. Wallace lake in snohomish county is a good example, it's full of lakers down deep and cutts in the shallows, but the fish are small, the average laker is five pounds and stunted, and the cutts are big headed old fourteen inchers. Which is why I encourage people to go out and catch and keep these fish. Although the prospect of cleaning twenty or thirty perch and blue gill may make my wife get woozy over ruining her perfect kitchen, the lack of competition among fish will encourage bigger and brighter fish.