Perch: Striking Good Looks, Good Eating, a Good Fish to Catch

Perch are gorgeous fish. They are brilliantly colored a rich yellow with spectacular fins shaded orange. Black downward stripes upon their body only make the fish more striking as it gazes from amidst the circle of yellowish orange around it's eyes. Perch meat is white and many think the meat has a sweet taste to it. It is a member of the panfish family taking up residence in the northern United States where it is thought their numbers are quite hearty. Perch are caught a lot easier than other fish and because of this many fishermen start their young offspring out on fishing for perch. Most young children don't like to sit still for long and for those young fishermen in training if nothing is caught within thirty minutes to an hour they will be looking for something else to do.

A child only has to catch one fish to get excited and fill with anticipation of catching another one. Parents should bait the hook for a young child to keep them from getting hurt and they should help the child to cast off into the water. When a fish is caught and pulled from the water the child should be warned not to reach out and grab it. The perch can inflict pain on a child that takes hold of it. Located toward the back of the perch body lies the dorsal fin. Inside of the dorsal fin lies one of its weapons of defense. It comes in the form of sharp spines. A predator that grabs a hold of the perch by the dorsal fin will get spiked. It probably won't kill the predator, but it will draw some blood and make the predator think twice about eating the perch. To avoid the dorsal fin, take a hold of the perch by the back of the head or by the upper portion of the body preferably from underneath on the belly side.