Plate VI
Perch
Perca fluviatilis
No minimum size — release fish you won't keep.
The perch is an adaptable, curious predator and is native to the Franconian Saale. Young fish roam in shoals, while large specimens tend to hunt as loners or in small groups; they are not site-faithful. They prefer to stay near structures such as stone packing, deadwood, groynes and weir areas, as well as in calmer, deeper stretches.
How to identify it
Six to eight dark, vertical bars on a greenish-yellow ground, a two-part dorsal fin with a spiny first section bearing a black blotch at its rear end, and red to orange-red pelvic, pectoral and anal fins.
Look-alikes
Confused with the ruffe, which however has a continuous dorsal fin and an unscaled head, and with the pikeperch, which lacks the black blotch and has pronounced fangs and a slender, long body.
Tip
Perch are readily caught on small soft baits, spinners or a drop-shot rig with worm, best near structure-rich spots; their white, firm and low-bone flesh is a prized food fish when filleted, breaded and fried.
This profile is provided without guarantee; biological details and especially closed season / minimum size must be checked against the current AVBayFiG and your permit before relying on them. Rules & closed seasons.