As you note YP have fewer spawns per year (1 vs. at least four for the bluegill) and the general consensus here is that the yellow perch get decimated by largemouth bass. In fact a good population of large yellow perch as the sole predator can keep yellow perch in check.
As one who hatches yellow perch in a designated small pond, I can tell you that one hatch can be quite prolific, but survival even to 4 or 5 inches is much lower even with no predators. ( I spawn my YP in a cage and remove the broodfish as soon as the eggs hatch).
And some years there isn't a good hatch of yellow perch. The enemy of a good hatch for outside perch is weather, and a cold spring can cripple phyto and zooplankton hatches, which can starve to death newly hatched fry. Bluegill spawn later and multiple times so it's not as much of an issue.
I've also found out the hard way that even a hand full of female escapee bluegills from a floating cage, in an all male bluegill pond can produce a multitude of bluegills in no time. So bluegills are quite prolific!
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 11/28/15 09:20 AM.
