Video: Catching perch-powered walleye hand over fist

Why is firetiger one of the most popular lure colours of all time?  It’s because the gaudy green, yellow, chartreuse, red and orange pattern impersonates perch perfectly. And everything eats yellow perch—even other yellow perch.

We look at perch as “aquatic rabbits,” for their role in the food web. On land, rabbits breed prolifically and fuel the ecosystem. Owls, hawks, foxes, skunks, lynx, coyotes, just about every meat eating land-based animal dines on rabbits and hares. Perch play the same role in our lakes, rivers and reservoirs, providing a plentiful supply of protein to every species of trout, bass, walleye, pike and muskies.

We were recently reviewing a fascinating diet study of muskies, where the Minnesota DNR researchers used the gastric lavage technique to flush out the stomachs of the big fish they had captured. And, yep, you guessed it: yellow perch were right up there at the top of the list.

What was even more telling, however, was that walleyes were way down the inventory of food items eaten by the very same muskies. It’s surprising because walleye and perch share many of the same habits and habitats. As a matter of fact, a walleye is the largest member of the perch family of fishes. So, given that they’re similarly coloured, bigger, provide more energy and are just as easy to capture, you would assume that that muskies would eat them as often, or more, than perch. But they don’t. In fact, walleyes barely register on the muskie menu, while perch appear to be selectively chosen and dominate.

The same pattern typically results when fisheries folks conduct walleye diet studies. Even though yellow perch are kin, walleye appear to go out of their way to devour them.  As we experienced the other day, when we enjoyed an absolutely marvellous day on the water, catching big walleyes hand over fist, using firetiger- and perch-patterned lures, while fishing over top of some of our favourite perch locations. Click on the video below to learn more and enjoy the action.