Perch

[5285]

This is a great point, and highly controversial to some anglers. Over the years I have caught perch in 6 to 45 feet of water. and have consistently noticed distended air bladder in perch caught in water over 30 feet. I don't ever recall seeing it in fish caught under 30 feet. I have heard the stories and read the articles on perforating the air bladder and releasing the fish, my personal experience is they become seagull food within 10 minutes, so I don't do it. Fishing west of the islands I have witnessed very few cases of distended air bladder in perch, but I have seen the gulls eating a whole bunch of undersized perch when fishing around packs of boats. I only release under size perch if they are lip hooked and energetic. Gill and belly hooked perch go in the bucket regardless of size.