Despite the name, the white perch is not a perch at all, it is a temperate bass, a close relative of the striped bass, and it looks and behaves like a striper shrunk down to panfish size. White perch school up in huge numbers, they are found in fresh and brackish water alike, and they are one of the finest-eating panfish going.
How to identify them
White perch are deep-bodied and silvery, sometimes with a dark or greenish back, and unlike the barred yellow perch they are unmarked, no stripes, no bars. That plain silver body and the spiny dorsal give away their striped-bass family ties.
Where and when
White perch are wonderfully adaptable, thriving in freshwater ponds and rivers as well as brackish estuaries. They school tightly and roam, and they bite all year, with especially good fishing in spring and fall and often through the ice in winter.
Tip When you catch one white perch, expect a crowd. They travel in dense schools, so mark the exact spot and depth, drop right back down, and you can often catch them one after another until the school moves.
How to catch them
White perch are easy and fun: small jigs, grass shrimp, worms and small soft plastics fished near the bottom or over structure. A downsized drop shot is deadly, and they take a small fly readily too.