12-24-2011, 12:38 PM
"Why have there not been great numbers of huge perch in any Utah waters for over 20 years? What has changed so much?"
[cool][#0000ff]As we have reminisced before, perch used to be "trash fish". Nobody deliberately fished for them so they were not harvested as heavily as they are these days. While it is almost impossible to totally decimate a perch population by angler harvest alone it can have an affect on the sizes available.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]From what I have learned, perch only live about 5 years on average. Some in the extreme north may live a few years longer. But few in Utah exceed about six years. In a super food-rich environment (like the OLD Yuba Reservoir) the size would max out about 14 to 15 inches. Most other waters sees them reaching a maximum of about 13 inches...with a footlong being a prize.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The biggest perch are always females. The males grow slower and do not get as big. They spawn very early in the year...often right after iceout. And one of the problems with perch spawning is that they need vegetation on which to deposit their eggs. They do not make depression nests in the bottom like other species.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That has created the potential for big population swings. In years with low water at the end of winter there is not enough spawning habitat for the perch to bring off a good spawn. And with no cover for the newly hatched perchlets they are at the mercy of all predators...including other perch. That means poor "recruitment". In this desert state of Utah there are not many years of high water in early spring since most of our perch ponds are subject to big drawdowns for farm use. So good spawns and big year classes are the rarity rather than the rule. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most of us recall the years-long drought ending about 2004, That took a toll on many waters. But the good spawns of the following years got the populations started on the upswing. Unfortunately, there were some big dieoffs...for whatever reason...and that knocked the heck out of things too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The story in Deer Creek is the smallmouth...more than the walleye. Young smallmouths slurp up a high percentage of the newly hatched perchlets each year...far more than the walleyes ever did. The big crash of the perch population in Deer Creek coincided with the introduction of smallies in the 80s. Before then the lake was full of perch...and crawdads. Since then both of those forage species have dropped way off.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It is no wonder that the larger perch are harder to find. After five years of running the angler gauntlet, and surviving all of the natural predators and diseases, the mega-thousands of perch from a particular year class have been reduced to a few hundred (or thousand) of the largest spawners. Those that survive their last winter (and ice anglers) will spawn and die in the spring.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The good news - bad news is that there are younger and smaller females that spawn each year too...and a lot more of them. But if none are ever allowed to reach their full size potential that can affect the gene pool...encouraging fish to remain smaller in order to survive and spawn. We all like to catch and keep the big mamas but it may not be in our best interests to do so.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]As we have reminisced before, perch used to be "trash fish". Nobody deliberately fished for them so they were not harvested as heavily as they are these days. While it is almost impossible to totally decimate a perch population by angler harvest alone it can have an affect on the sizes available.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]From what I have learned, perch only live about 5 years on average. Some in the extreme north may live a few years longer. But few in Utah exceed about six years. In a super food-rich environment (like the OLD Yuba Reservoir) the size would max out about 14 to 15 inches. Most other waters sees them reaching a maximum of about 13 inches...with a footlong being a prize.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The biggest perch are always females. The males grow slower and do not get as big. They spawn very early in the year...often right after iceout. And one of the problems with perch spawning is that they need vegetation on which to deposit their eggs. They do not make depression nests in the bottom like other species.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]That has created the potential for big population swings. In years with low water at the end of winter there is not enough spawning habitat for the perch to bring off a good spawn. And with no cover for the newly hatched perchlets they are at the mercy of all predators...including other perch. That means poor "recruitment". In this desert state of Utah there are not many years of high water in early spring since most of our perch ponds are subject to big drawdowns for farm use. So good spawns and big year classes are the rarity rather than the rule. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Most of us recall the years-long drought ending about 2004, That took a toll on many waters. But the good spawns of the following years got the populations started on the upswing. Unfortunately, there were some big dieoffs...for whatever reason...and that knocked the heck out of things too.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The story in Deer Creek is the smallmouth...more than the walleye. Young smallmouths slurp up a high percentage of the newly hatched perchlets each year...far more than the walleyes ever did. The big crash of the perch population in Deer Creek coincided with the introduction of smallies in the 80s. Before then the lake was full of perch...and crawdads. Since then both of those forage species have dropped way off.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]It is no wonder that the larger perch are harder to find. After five years of running the angler gauntlet, and surviving all of the natural predators and diseases, the mega-thousands of perch from a particular year class have been reduced to a few hundred (or thousand) of the largest spawners. Those that survive their last winter (and ice anglers) will spawn and die in the spring.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The good news - bad news is that there are younger and smaller females that spawn each year too...and a lot more of them. But if none are ever allowed to reach their full size potential that can affect the gene pool...encouraging fish to remain smaller in order to survive and spawn. We all like to catch and keep the big mamas but it may not be in our best interests to do so.[/#0000ff]
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