Yellow perch are a favorite forage option of walleye wherever the two species swim together, and in many situations perch can provide a year-round forage option for walleye. This is because perch, which are related to walleye, offer the same type of body profile as walleyes in a smaller size, making an easy to consume forage option.
Yellow perch are often associated with clear water and submerged vegetation. This is because when spawning, yellow perch will lay their eggs on this submerged vegetation and the newly hatched young will often use the same structure for nursery habitat as they grow.
By late summer and into early fall, these young of the year yellow perch will begin to focus on deeper water for a number of reasons. The first is the deeper, cooler water can be more comfortable as the summer sun and heat continues to warm these shallower, weedy areas. The second is that other predators, including both fish and birds, can push perch to deep water in search of refuge.
Northern pike, muskie, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and of course walleye will all view yellow perch as a forage option. This includes from the time they are very young, to even as they reach larger sizes, which means perch often spend much of their life on the run.
By late summer and into early fall, schools of yellow perch may abandon the submerged vegetation they have called home for much of their life, and will move out over deeper water in main lake areas. These areas are often adjacent to large, weed patches that had held these perch previously, and often at relatively shallow depths similar to where they had come from.
This means that schools of yellow perch may still be present 5 to 10 feet below the surface of the water, even when they are suspended over 30, 40, or even 50 feet deep. This sets up an ideal scenario for walleye, particularly larger walleye, that can seek refuge in the deeper, cooler, and more comfortable water while coming up to feed when the opportunity presents itself.
This pattern holds especially true when other large bodied forage options, such as gizzard shad, ciscoe, smelt, or shiners are minimal or not present. The largest walleyes of the system are looking for the largest forage options, in the deepest, coolest water possible, and when other options are not available this can often be yellow perch or other young of year fish.
Trolling crankbaits, particularly small to medium sized minnow profiles, is often the best approach for both covering water and emulating these young of the year perch. Setting your baits just below the balls of perch on your graph, and covering as much water as possible, will often be the key to success.
Yellow perch are a critical food source for walleye, and following these newly hatched perch as they begin their lives in shallow vegetation, and in certain bodies of water move out over deeper water, is a great way to stay on a great walleye bite all summer and fall long!
