Perch fish are a colorful breed of fish. We have taken a look at the best baits to be using right now when it comes to catching big perch. What they eat and when Surprisingly, for the smaller size, these are a predator that has no real preference for anything. The yellow perch (Perca flavescens), is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of the eastern United States and most of Canada.It’s closely related to other perciform fish like walleye, sauger, darters and European perch. Throughout its range, the perch is a popular sport fish, put up a good fight, and are good to eat. Each bird must eat at least its own bodyweight of fish each day. Young yellow perch feed on phytoplankton, zooplankton as well as insects that swim within the water. Juveniles feed on zooplankton, bottom invertebrate fauna and alternative perch fry, whereas adults take advantage of each invertebrates and fish, principally sticklebacks, perch, roach and minnows. In the Northern hemisphere scientists found that the diet of the tagged perch shifted from mainly other fish between August and January to chiefly insects and worms from February to June. They are carnivorous in nature. First introduced to Australia in the 1860s for angling, Redfin perch are now widespread across the cooler parts of NSW, ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, south-eastern South Australia and the south-western corner of Western Australia. With an estimated three million anglers in the UK regularly pulling fish out of the water only to put them straight back, why is it that we don't we eat more of our native freshwater species? The common, or European, perch is greenish with dark, vertical bars on the sides and reddish or orange colouring in the lower fins. For more great tips from top anglers head to this year’s T The European Perch is an impressive looking species, their powerful looking heads having large black eyes and a bony jaw without teeth, which can expand considerably enabling it to swallow prey over half its own width. Yup, you read that right, one of the best baits for catching perch is perch! He wanted to know if the European perch are the same as the ones we’re accustomed to catching in Canada? Continuing the list of traditional European food, in the Netherlands, it’s all about the herring. On return to the perch, it repeatedly strikes the fish against the perch to kill it. Does the Yadkin River lakes have a large population of these perch? There is no tastier pan fish. Smaller ones (under 4" long) will eat small invertebrates and the eggs of other fishes. Fresh perch can be eaten whole or in fillets, depending on the cook's preference. They love to eat crayfish and some aquatic insects. Yellow perch are carnivorous fish that prefer to ambush prey near the bottom of waterways. The European perch has been successfully introduced in New Zealand and Australia, where it is known as the redfin perch or English perch. Yellow perch and European perch. In Australia, larger specimens have been bred, but the species rarely grows heavier than 2.7 kg (6 lb).