This fall I visited BGSU to watch and learn as graduate students were working with otoliths from larval and fingerling fish. Since then, I have removed my first few otoliths from a couple of yellow perch. I have not got around to trying to age them yet. I was going to try and get a few more otholiths from older and larger perch. Then sometime late winter, I was going to take my otoliths to an otolith reading specialist with the ODNR (I have an invitation) and learn their preperation and aging technique. I know with their walleye otoliths they crack them in half, do a light polish and read the cross section. I am still a neophyte at this otolith thing.
