Seldom reaching more than 12 inches in length, white perch are the smallest members of New York State’s true bass. They are easily told apart from other true bass because white perch have no dark stripes and no patches of teeth on their tongues.

White perch are prolific breeders. Schools of spawning white perch crowd into tributary streams or along gravelly shoal areas in lakes and large rivers to deposit their eggs. The tiny eggs sink to the bottom and attach to vegetation and rocks. Young perch eat plankton and insects while older perch feed mostly on fish.

White perch are tasty fish with white, flaky flesh