Central basin perch

[badboards]

I agree bob. 30 perch limit is nothing compared to the commercial harvest. I hope they keep them regulated. I would like to know the numbers. And yes the fleas are an issue but they are counting the perch population and its shrinking which has nothing to do with what they are eating unless eating fleas are killing them which I don't believe is happening.

[fishhawk2700]

As I have posted in the past. The commercial harvest on the US side of the lake is miniscule compared to what the Canadians take. You have to remember The Canadians take EVERY pound of fish they are allotted. They say this is a sustainable fishery. This is a LIE. No commercial fishery is sustainable. Always remember, we are just four or five years of poor recruitment away from a crash in the walleye fishery. It has happened in the past it will happen again.

[FUBAR1]

I have to shake my head when I read some of these comments. I've read here that it's ODNR's fault, it's Canada's fault, and it’s the walleye's fault... How many of you have gone to Lake Erie and caught walleye or perch all day but only took home a fraction of the legal limit? I'm gonna bet that if you got 6 walleye or 30 perch you brought all you were legally allowed to possess home with you. Most people will take everything they can get because they can and the same goes for commercial operations. But there comes a point when one or more factors change in a fishery and they whole dynamic is impacted. Whether it's Canada or the great walleye hatches that do it, we as fisherman have to take the good with the bad. We need to appreciate the great fishing when we have it and know that it won't last forever. Perch populations will come back and eventually the walleye fishing will fall off. At that point the perch guys will have to listen to the walleye guys belly ache about who’s at fault (<--humor).

Take away these three things from this post, 1) appreciate what you have when you have it (take nothing for granted); 2) we are not guaranteed or entitled to catch a limit of fish ever; 3) if Ohio, PA, MI, and NY did not have any conservation laws, Lake Erie would be a dead lake and you’d have to take up golf.