Perch differs from other orders in the structure of the dorsal fin - it consists of two parts, of which the front part is spiny, and the back is softer. In some individuals, fusion of two parts is observed. As for the anal fin, it contains from one to three spines. In the tail there is a kind of recess. The pelvic fins most often have red tints. Perch has surprisingly large teeth, located in a large mouth, arranged in several rows; some individuals also have fangs. Dense scales adjacent to the skin with dark stripes. At the back is a ridge, it consists of teeth or spines. The cover of the gills consists of small serrations.
The weight of the fish varies from 450g to 3 kg, when the weight of huge sea fish reaches 15 kg. The fish can be more than a meter in length, but on average it is about 40 cm. Perches are hunted by large predators, such as otters and herons, including humans.
The color of perch varies depending on the species, most often green-yellow and gray-green. Marine fish often have red hues. They come in yellow or bluish color. Deep-sea fish have large eyes.
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the habitat of the perch fish has a huge potential for life, most often due to the introduction into other bodies of water; the perch appears in the reservoirs of Spain, China, New Zealand and other countries. The perch fish is considered to be acclimatized in the Ebro River basin, Spain.
Types of perches
The perch family consists of more than 100 species. On the territories of countries that were formerly part of the USSR, several species are represented:
- river perch - most often found in all fresh water bodies;
- yellow perch - these fish have fins, tails and yellow scales;
- Balkhash perch has a dorsal fin without dark spots, and adult representatives do not have vertical stripes;
- sea bass - all fin needles have poisonous glands.
general description
Ordinary perch is also called river perch; it is a fish of the perch family from the order Perciformes. Has a huge habitat. It can be found in all reservoirs of Europe, as well as Central Asia. Due to artificial breeding, you can also see it in the waters of North America, Africa, New Zealand and even Australia. River perch is a typical predator. In the diet of adult fish, a large share is occupied by fry of different species. Most of all he loves reservoirs located on the plains. Often found in lakes, reservoirs, ponds and rivers. It is also found in the seas, in those areas where a freshwater river flows into the sea.
Perch size
The size of river perch can be no more than 50 cm, weighing 2 kg, but some species are also larger. The size of perches may vary in different bodies of water. The average size of an adult perch can reach 20 cm. The lifespan of a river perch can be 20 years. Factors such as age and size directly depend on the specific body of water in which there are many perches. There are two types of fish: small, slow-growing fish known as grass perch, and large, deep-dwelling perch, which can already reach 100 grams at the age of four and lives in the open part of lakes.
Weight and length of the perch, what is the maximum weight and length of the perch
Basically, the maximum weight of a perch does not exceed 2.5 kg, and its length is 50 cm. But of course there are giant perches. In order for perch to reach enormous sizes, there must be favorable conditions. Namely, the water should not be too cold, and most importantly, a large food supply.
In cold waters where there is not enough food, a 30 cm perch can be more than 10-12 years old. Moreover, in warmer bodies of water where there is an abundance of food. Perch can reach a mark of 30 cm in 5-6 years.
In addition, fish grow throughout their lives and perch is no exception; as already mentioned, the main maximum weight of perch reaches 2.5 kg. But probably many of you have heard, or even seen perches for 3 kg, or even more. Therefore, if you have photos of trophy perches, post them below, and maybe we will see new record-breaking trophies.
Perch spawning
Perch spawning is most often observed in the spring, which is the most important cycle in life. During this period, perch fish do not respond to all kinds of bait. That is why anglers try to distinguish between the life cycles of perch. After the ice on the reservoirs melts, the fish leave their winter resting places, after which they gather in schools and go to shallow waters. During this period, in the shallow water there are heaps of white fish of different sizes, preparing for spawning. At this time, deep-sea perch goes hunting - “pre-spawning zhor”. Perch can be caught using any live bait. Zhor takes about a week. One of the conditions for spawning is the temperature of water and air.
This cycle in the life of a perch directly depends on the water temperature. That is why it is impossible to clearly name the month of spawning. As soon as the temperature reaches 8 degrees, the bite stops taking place.
The next condition will be oxygen and its saturation in water. That is why the absence of ice is a prerequisite. Deep-sea and grass perches choose different places for spawning, so the timing of spawning varies significantly.
Way to travel
Perch is one of the fish that constantly stays in one place. Even before spawning it does not make significant movements. Depending on the season, perch behave differently. Its movements depend on smaller fish, which are its main food source. Consider the description of the movement of an aquatic predator:
- Spring. After spawning, the fish remain in shallow bays, where they recover after breeding. Then, individuals gather in groups and leave the warm waters.
- Summer. During the warmest months, predators move to more suitable areas for setting up ambushes. An ideal place could be a relief bottom or places with snags.
- Autumn. At the beginning of the season, white fish gather in schools and move from the shore deep into the reservoirs. As the weather gets colder, the fish will have to go to the warmest layers of water for food. Even with the first frosts, the perch will continue to move around the water area of the reservoir behind schools of fish. During the fall months, a phenomenon called the “perch cauldron” often occurs. Outwardly, it looks like a bubbling cauldron of water, where a flock of predators chases fry on the surface of the water. Birds take advantage of this excellent opportunity to feast on fish, pulling not only the fry, but also the perches themselves out of the water.
- Winter. During the cold season, all individuals only occasionally leave their roosting sites at depth. With warming, the predator switches to normal movement throughout the reservoir. After the melt water spreads throughout the reservoir, movement begins from the places where the predator lives during the wintering period.
Perch habitats
The habitats of perch are in almost all reservoirs located in the Northern Hemisphere. For comfortable life of perch, several conditions are necessary - weak currents, medium depths and underwater vegetation. Perches can form schools and live in lakes at depths of up to 150 m.
At the boundaries of large bodies of water, fish can form local herds and divide into two large populations. Fish most often live in flat bodies of water, such as a river, lake, pond or reservoir. There are reservoirs where perch is the only species of fish.
Perch is mainly found in the coastal part of the reservoir, where there is the most algae and so on, or in the environment of artificial obstacles. An unfavorable temperature for reproduction of an individual is water above 32-33 °C.
Perch lifestyle
A predatory perch, it can often be prey to more predatory fish, such as catfish, pike or burbot. In turn, it feeds on any fish, as long as it is suitable in size. And since the perch has a rather huge mouth, the river perch can eat particularly large fish without much difficulty. It also hunts molting crayfish that have lost their shell, eggs, and aquatic insects.
Perch leads a fairly active lifestyle. The fish begin to hunt in the morning. On sunny days, the fish stands in dense underwater vegetation, avoiding the heat and sunlight, and ambushes its prey. Summer days of river perch depend on the lack of food. In winter, perch goes to a depth of up to 50 meters. Rivers and ponds must have a layer of unfrozen water so that fish can swim. Ice holes are necessary to support the life of the perch.
Perch is a particularly voracious fish. If a perch sees a large school of fish, without swallowing the first one, it swallows the second, third, fourth, and so on. Sometimes the perch's stomach becomes completely clogged, and small fish stick out straight from the mouth. It is believed that pike causes enormous damage to perch. But the perch tries not to give in, turning the game over more often. The fish respects cool water and does not consider it acceptable to swim on the surface of the reservoir, but if a fish appears, the perch rises from the depths without hesitation.
Perch spawns in the south of the country in April, and in the north in May; most often the cycle can be delayed and some species can be found even in June.
Perch: description
A characteristic feature of this type of fish is the structure and shape of the dorsal fin. It consists of two parts. The front part is more prickly, and the back part is usually soft. In some species of fish this fin is solid. The anal fin contains several (up to 3) hard spines, and the caudal fin has a specific notch. Almost all representatives of this family have pink or bright red pelvic fins. The perch's mouth is large, as are its large teeth, which are arranged in several rows. Some representatives of this class are distinguished by the presence of fangs. This predator has fairly small scales that fit securely to the skin, and on the rear edges there is a ridge on which small spines and teeth are visible. The gill cover has numerous small serrations.
Perch grows to a size of 3 kg, and its average weight is within 0.4 kg. The weight of sea bass can be about 14 kilograms. The length of the predator is approximately 1 meter, or even more, but the average individual reaches a length of no more than 45 cm. Perch is included in the diet of humans, otters, herons and other larger predatory fish.
Perch coloring page
The color of the perch depends on what species it belongs to, so it can be yellow-green or gray-green. Sea bass has slightly different colors, such as pink or red, although there are specimens in yellowish or bluish shades. Deep-sea species tend to have large eyes.
Life cycle of a perch
In spring, perch's food intake can range from late March to early April. Guided by this, we are accustomed to calling two periods – pre-spawning zhor and post-spawning. In the first case, the zhor begins long before the ice melts. Perch eats up before spawning. Usually, by the beginning of spawning, the reservoir is deprived of ice. Usually fishing during this period occurs with winter gear. The second zhora usually begins at the end of May. During this period, spawning of small fish just ends. And the recovery period for fish is very fast.
In summer, perch's appetite weakens significantly. Now there is no need for food compared to pre-spawning periods. In summer, perch has no zhor, just like pike does.
In autumn, when winter approaches, the fish's appetite increases. The activity of the fish increases, this is justified by the fact that the fish needs to gain fat during a difficult period. Perch begins its autumn feeding at the end of September, when the water temperature drops below 10 degrees.
At the end of autumn, ice begins to form on reservoirs. In winter, fishing usually begins in early November. The winter fat of perch directly depends on the tranquility of the reservoir, because only when the waves stop flowing, ice fills the entire surface of the lake, the fish begins to walk in shallow water, and comes to a distance accessible to the fisherman. As it gets colder, the fish sink to depth, which means only one thing – the winter glutton of perch is coming to its logical conclusion.
Perch nutrition
Perch fry feed on zooplankton, depending on their age, they begin to feed on benthic organisms, and then prey on young fish. The fish feeds on fry in the second year of life. The feeding method of fish is characteristic of facultative predators. Depending on the lake, the food of fish of the same age may vary due to differences in the composition of the food. Most fish eat narrow-bodied fish. More often, stickleback, minnow, roach, and also sprat become victims of perch. Perch fish is a supporter of cannibalism; sometimes adult fish eat young fish. Perch eats insect larvae, frogs and crayfish. Perches are the most well-fed in summer and autumn; the fish actively feed in preparation for winter.
Algae, pieces of bark, and small stones are often found in the stomachs of perches. It is known that fish swallow them accidentally, along with benthic organisms, fish, crayfish and larvae, but there are versions that tell us that these minor objects are necessary for perches as digestive enzymes.
With prolonged starvation, perch fish quickly lose weight and subsequently die earlier than other predators, such as catfish or pike.
Age and appearance
It differs from other fish by its laterally compressed body, covered with small jagged scales. Most often it has a greenish or yellowish color. Black transverse stripes run across the body. Most often their number is seven. But in general there are from five to nine stripes. For this reason, he is often called the sailor, the striped one, or even the tiger. But his belly is white.
The first feature by which perch is distinguished from most other freshwater fish is its two dorsal fins. They are located close to each other, but the first fin is more massive and longer. The dorsal fin begins at the level of the pectoral fins. The first dorsal fin is gray. But the second fin is distinguished by a greenish color. The pectoral fins are usually shorter than the ventral fins. The pectoral fins and anal fin are yellow or red. The pelvic fins are light, with a bright ruby border. The caudal fin is often dark green. But from reservoir to reservoir, small details in color may vary.
It is worth knowing that the rays of the first dorsal fin are spiny. There are also spines on the pectoral fins. So you need to handle the perch carefully. The head of this fish is blunt in shape. A typical hump can be seen behind the head. Large individuals have a clearly defined hump, which is why they are often called “humpbacks.” Perch is a predator, but humans should not be afraid of its teeth. The teeth are bristly, and therefore cannot harm a person. But the small fish get a lot of trouble. The prey has virtually no chance of being released. Because when the prey moves towards the fish's throat, the teeth fold. But when the fish tries to escape, its teeth dig into its body. Even the tongue of the perch has small serrations. But he has no fangs. This is one of its significant differences from pike perch, which has a similar coloring.
Recommended reading: How to catch crucian carp in winter from ice
Methods of catching perch
As soon as the reservoir is covered with ice, the perch bite is the most active. It occurs when the ice is still ultra-thin. Since schools of striped fish have not yet established themselves in certain places, perch are biting throughout the entire area of the reservoir. First of all, the entire plane is examined, because the fish can stop anywhere.
There are several ways to catch perch in winter, such as: drilling with a zigzag, the same envelope, placing live bait fishing rods, under-ice echo sounder, group research. Each of the methods is a very important assistant in finding perch both at depth and in small bodies of water.
The fishing gear for perch can be a marmy with a bait, a reelless bait, a perch bait, a live bait fishing rod, or a spinner. With jig gear for perch, everything is clear, the first one is attached with a bloodworm, the second one works without attachments, provoking and luring the perch. Lure tackle - balancers, spoons, amphipods, silicone baits, flies, cicadas.
In the summer habitats of the fish, fishermen successfully catch it with spinning rods and large lures for perch. The spoon is cast in the bottom layer, close to stones, koryak, and so on. Subsequent casts are made closer to the school of caught fish and their movements are monitored.
On weak currents or reservoirs where the water is in a calm state, summer fishing for perch using a winter lure in a plumb line from a motor boat. In summer you can fish with a jig and a long fishing rod.
The bottom topography is of great importance. Usually the fish is in the bottom layer of the reservoir, so using a depth gauge, you can track the depth of the nozzle, which is held depending on the immersion of 20 centimeters from the bottom. Sometimes perch is found in the upper layers of a reservoir, for example, it is caught while hunting for fry.
What does perch eat?
The predator is rightly considered omnivorous and gluttonous. The diet of fry and young animals usually includes zooplankton, mollusks, crustaceans, worms, and insects. Grown-up perch eats caviar and small specimens of carp fish: crucian carp, gudgeon, roach, rudd, bleak. One of the biological features of perch is its slow weight gain. Unlike other inhabitants of reservoirs, to gain 1 kg of weight, he has to eat 4-5 times more food, and with low calorie food - 6-7 times more. That is why perch leads a fairly active lifestyle, constantly searching for food.
Perch dishes
Baked perch in foil
e -
lovers of fish dishes will appreciate river perch baked in foil; even an inexperienced housewife can handle the preparation.
Perch with
potatoes in the oven
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the fish is baked in the oven along with potatoes, onions, mushrooms, sour cream and spices.
Fried sea bass in batter
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the fish is fried in batter until golden brown, then served with sauce to taste.
Sea bass with vegetables
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the fish is cut into pieces and stewed with tomatoes and onions.
Perch soup
on the fire -
fish soup is a national dish.
It is an integral part of outdoor recreation. Fish sticks with spicy sauce
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pieces of fish are breaded and fried in oil.
Sea bass with lemon sauce
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sea bass meat is quite soft and aromatic, and fried grouper in lemon sauce is a delicacy.
Cooking perch
The predator has very tasty white meat, which contains amino acids, phosphorus, iodine, potassium and vitamins. 100 g of fillet contains only 82 kcal, so it is quite suitable for preparing dietary dishes. The skeleton of a perch does not have a large number of small bones, which is another important advantage. There are many recipes for this fish in the cuisines of different countries. Fish soup, aspic, baked perch, stewed in wine and smoked are considered especially tasty.
Unlike many other fish, perch tolerates freezing well, and retains its taste even after several months in the freezer.
How to properly clean scales from a perch
The main difficulty in cooking fish is removing the scales. To remove small, hard and tightly adjacent scales from the skin, you will need to put in a lot of effort.
Little tricks will help greatly simplify the process:
- Before cleaning, the fish is washed and doused with boiling water, after which the scales are easily separated from the skin.
- If you need to remove the scales along with the skin to obtain fish fillets, the carcasses are covered with salt and left for a day. After salting, the skin flakes off and peels off.
FISHES INCLUDED IN THE RED BOOK OF RUSSIA
