White Perch (Morone americana)

The White Perch or Morone americana is a species of freshwater fish that is sometimes referred to as the Silver Perch. Even though this fish is called a perch, it doesn't belong to the same family as the Yellow Perch, and is actually closer to a Bass. This fish is medium sized only growing to about 20" in maximum length and weighing in at nearly 5lbs.

White Perch have large scales and a white underbelly with a gray-green coloration on its back and sides that fades to a silver as you move downward. As you can see in the pictures this fish has a serious dorsal spines so be careful when handling them.   They are found in freshwater as well as brackish waters in places like Maine, and other coastal areas.

White Perch are known to eat small Walleye, Yellow Perch, minnows and fish eggs. They can reproduce rather quickly, with the female producing 140,000 eggs in a single spawning session. These eggs will hatch in about a week.

In some places White Perch are loved for their great fight and tasty meat, but other places they are looked upon as a nuisance that destroys other species by their quick breeding and appetite for small fish and eggs.  The have been discovered in the Great Lakes and are thought to cause serious troubles for the Walleye population.  

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