According to the state officials there will be another solid perch season on Lake Michigan and the ports of St. Joseph, South Haven and Grand Haven should be the most productive based on trawl data and angler surveys. Dave Clapp, head of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment Great Lakes Fisheries Research Station in Charlevoix, told that those are the three ports that really fuel the southern Lake Michigan (perch) fishery every year.
As per the information there were 600,000 perch caught in 2009 on Lake Michigan. Clapp informed that the fish were caught in waters south of Ludington. The southern basin of the lake has the best habitat for perch. While the port catch varies due to the economy, weather, tourism patterns or whether anglers target perch, a more important measure of abundance is catch rate.
Clapp said that last year, they had the best catch rates since 1995. Anglers can expect to find 9-inch and 10-inch perch this summer. The 2005 year class, Clapp said, is running about 8 inches. That class makes up 50 to 55 percent of the perch population. The smaller 2006 year class makes up 20 percent. That means more fluctuations are ahead.
Clapp suggested that drowned river mouths can offer excellent perch fishing. The shallower and warmer waters contained there often serve as important nurseries for perch, even producing populations that add significantly to the open lake population.
