Here is what yellow perch eggs look like. (These perch are not the ones some of you southerners call bluegills :p .)

For those of you that don't know, yellow perch lay their eggs in strands that swell when they make contact with water. The perch seek out brush, weeds, etc. to lay their eggs on to keep open space around the eggs for oxygen flow. If the eggs are laid on the bottom they are doomed. These are unfertilized eggs (white) due to a lack of males in the pond. Fertlized eggs would be clear.

I bundled up some dead asparagas stems from the garden and weighted them down around the edges of the pond as the pond is weed and debris free. As you can see the female perch are obviously finding them.

Although I do not have any males in the pond, I don't want the females to be stressed looking for egg laying sites. Being in a prolonged state of ovulation or reabsorbtion would probably be stressful on the fish. (Ask you wife LOL)

I've found the number one thing to keep in mind about raising fish is to keep the stress level down.

Cecil, great picture and explanation of the egg laying habits of a species that I've often wondered about.

thank you , Cecil

So thats what I'm supposed to look for?

Kind of looks like toilet paper.

ed

...that reminds me; I have to call the hunney truck.

Interesting. Most of my eggs ribbons are white as well. I am wondering if I have mainly females in the pond? In the center of the sacs I do see some small black dots. I thought they were the start of the perch. Also most of the eggs ribbons I see are near or on the surface. Maybe the males did not get to them up that high and the lower eggs and or the ribbons further in the water ( which I can't see ) are actually going to produce some YP.

Thanks for giving some insight here!

Yep once a year the perch teepee my pond!

Hey Cecil....you have any relatives in Kansas? I know Jason Baird from Gypsum Kansas. He is the one that caught #400 largemouth bass in the Texas sharelunker program. 13.1 pounds on Amistead !!! Fish was worth over $5,000 !!

Not that I'm aware of but there are Bairds everywhere.

Actually I have found out from relatives that have done some genelogy research, that our particular name was originally Beard. One of my ancestors changed it because he got tired of people mispronouncing it. The Beards orginally came from England in 1650 and one of them fought in the revoloutionary war.

What's really hillarious is one of my ancestors got in a lot of hot water with his church for fishing on the sabbath in Massachusetts! He bascially told them to take a hike for awhile and then came back and apologized. He was netting shad on the Connecticut river for consumption - not pleasure! My how times have changed.

Thanks CB1 for the pic and explanation. My southern unofficial perch (white , black , blue, red and green) don't teepee the ponds. I guess its only the yellow ones that do. :p

Thanks for sharing Cecil! I learned something new today!

Great post Cecil!

Is that egg mass from one perch or did a number of others just pile on?? How much does a perch egg mass swell after it hits the water??

It's just one perch. Not sure how much they swell but it appears to be a lot. The bigger the perch the bigger the egg mass.

Another dumb question here but are those fertile eggs? Or does the males fertilize them after they are laid.What is the incubation period before they would hatch?

Why would that be a dumb question?

These should not be fertile eggs as to the best of my ability and others, we only planted this pond with females. The male fertilizes the eggs as they are laid. All the fish me planted appeared to be plumb with eggs. Some more than others depending on their sizes.

Hatching occurs 11 to 27 days after fertilization depending on water temperature.

Here's some more perch egg pics and information about perch for those for you that may be interested. These eggs don't look any different in coloration than the ones I see in the pond that isn't supposed to have any males!

Bill Cody do you concur!


http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/recreational/hatchery/hatyellowperch.html

Cecil,
I have noticed Perch eggs. I counted 16 different strands tonight.(I saw 1 three days ago) My concern is that all of the eggs I can see are laid in the filamentous algea. Are you saying that they won't be fertilized? My strands appear to be all white. When should they have a black spot on them? If they are all white does that meen that it is to late for them to be fertilized.
I have a tremendous amount of structure for them to hang the eggs from so if they prefer to hang the strands why would they opt to lay it in the fil. algae instead of utilizing all the structure I have placed.
Speaking of your relatives I go up to Douglas Lake in northern Michigan and met one of your relatives.
Thanks in advance,
Mike

Mike,

I've never seen any black spots. I think that is in frog or toad eggs but could be wrong. As long as the eggs are not laying flat on the bottom they could make it. The FA may also provide oxygen?

The relative you are talking about -- is it Larry from Hicksville?

Cecil,
Yes, it is Larry. I often read the forum and when I was up north he told me about one of his relatives who raised large perch. I surprised him when I guessed who you were. Even though we haven't met.

My perch eggs are not sitting on the bottom they are resting on the FA. Glad to hear there was no black spots as I can not see any in my eggs.

I think my pond is finally ready for my SMB to arrive which should be next week. I have so many minnows around it is ridiculous. I am sure those SMB will make short work of a lot of the minnows. I just hope my perch spawn works out.

Thanks for responding.
Mike

Hi guys,

I've been out of the loop and busy with other projects but with spring here getting busy on the pond once again. I have 200 perch being delivered this evening and was wondering if the spawn for my area (Western Ohio-east of Fort Wayne, IN) is over. The fish are 7 to 8 inches and supplier said were ready for spawn. Is it worth adding structure right away or have I missed the boat? Do they spawn later or only once a year?

Thanks,

Chip

I am not sure of your water temps, but up here in upstate NY the spawn took place about 4 weeks ago and now I am on to the fathead spawn. Thus as a guess I would say your past the time for this year.

Thanks Eric. That's about what I figured.

Chip, There are a few strains of late spawning perch. The type of conditions that the perch came from can also delay the timing of a spawn. If your supplier said that they had not spawned yet then put in a few (3-8) pieces of twiggy brush (live or dead) along the pond edges in 6" to 20" of water. Don't let the branches just float. Weight the branches down with a brick on he main stem so at least some of the twigs sink and are near or along the bottom. You should see some eggs in one to 5 days. Pull the branches out in 2-3 weeks after the eggs hatch.

Thanks Bill,
I guess we'll try it an see what happens. Not much harm in trying.
Chip

Chip,

I had two fresh egg strands this morning. My perch also came from an Ohio supplier and are the Lake Erie strain. Who is your supplier?

Cecil,

Wow, that sounds encouraging; I'm putting in some structure as soon as I finish my coffee.

Not sure if the are Lake Erie strain,it's possible since we're only an hour and a half south of the lake, so I'm checking on that. They are from Ohio though, a fish farmer from Forest, OH (B. Buckingham)is handling them for me.

Thanks,

Chip

Cecil, since you started this thread, thank's for your observations, photos and input and I don't mean to hijack it; and Bill,your sideband was appreciated. I decided based on what I'd seen here to place 300 perch in our pond this evening. Originally I was only going to put in 200 but the fish looked so good I couldn't say no.As of sunset I walked the pond and there were no floaters.

We placed the pine brush this morning and released the perch nearby after acclimating them to the water. Most turned out to be solid 8" fish with a few males under that. The supplier stripped some eggs from a female and quite a few were in spawn colors so I hope they spawn yet. I took some pictures but the kids took my camera to the Prom so I'll have to post them later.

Thanks for your help,

Chip