The spring perch runs have always signaled the arrival of a new fishing season in Chesapeake country. Before the run began you could pluck them out of the deep holes downriver of spawning sites, but as March progressed the run would be busting loose in a fish-catching frenzy. Year to year the exact timing was different and the fish arrived and departed in pulses so it was always a bit of a hit-or-miss fishery, but generally speaking you could catch yellow perch in huge numbers for weeks at a time. Shortly after their masses started dropping off the white perch moved in to fill the gap. All spring long we enjoyed the sound of perch nuggets crackling away in the frying pan.

tidal river spawning white perch
The perch runs signal a new fishing season for anglers all through Chesapeake country.

Through the years, however, fishing the perch run seems to have become tougher. There seem to be fewer days you hit it big, and more days you go home with a skunk in the cooler. Is this a matter of lower numbers of fish? Stock assessments indicate that perch aren’t in dire straits; the DNR’s latest population numbers on Choptank River white perch, for example, currently sit slightly higher than they were in the early 90s. And we do still have some banner angling afternoons—including times when you can catch fish as quickly as you can rebait the hook. Could something else explain the change?

When Perch Spawn

Depending on what source you refer to, yellow perch begin to spawn in the low- to mid-40s and white perch like the low- to mid-50s. The Choptank has always been a great spring kickoff point, so let’s start there. According to the USGS, in Greensboro water temps 15 years ago averaged 38.3 degrees in January. In 2024, the average was 42.1 degrees. Of course, every winter and every spring are different and one single season doesn’t tell a complete story. But all the way back in 2014 the USGS also said that average annual stream and river temperatures in the Chesapeake Bay watershed had gone up 2.52 degrees from 1960 to 2010. Hmmm…

I’m no scientist, but those numbers sure get me thinking: could the perch be spawning earlier than they did when I was a kid, tugging on my dad’s shirtsleeve and begging him to take us perch-jerking on an early April afternoon? Or, could it be that the run has become more protracted, so we don’t see the same numbers of fish all at once? Could it be more condensed, so we’re less likely to hit the hotspot when the run is on? Tough questions, all. But…

The Catfish is Out of the Bag

Again emphasizing that I’m not a scientist, one thing the science guys and I agree on is that the recent blue catfish population explosion could be affecting the populations of perch of both varieties. The USGS stance on this is that blue catfish prey on perch, however, the impact hasn’t been quantified. My personal experience is that at my favorite local perch run spot, the upper Patuxent River, in the exact same spots I used to enjoy over a month of good perch action per season I now get a couple of weeks. And a decade ago I might have caught a channel cat or two while perch fishing with shad darts and minnow (yellows) or darts and grass shrimp (whites). But today it’s impossible to not catch multiple blue cats, often including monster fish in the 20- to 40-pound range. How is the presence of these fish affecting the run?

catching blue catfish while perch fishing
These days, when you go spring perch-jerking it’s not unusual to encounter those big blue cats. Just how are they affecting the run?

February Fishing

While I can’t answer all the sciency questions, I can say one thing for sure: these days I catch a lot more yellow perch during February in prespwn zones than I do in March during the “run.” And my best days on whites are in March, not April.

A deep dive into the past five years of our FishTalk Fishing Reports also provides a few clues. There are annual exceptions (2021 was an oddball, for example, with an unusually deep freeze in mid-February), but looking at this snapshot in angling time on the whole we see that:

  • Each and every year it’s been extremely hit-or-miss with one day hot, the next day not. Often a single week’s report includes skunks for some anglers yet banner action for others—so the perch fishing can turn on a dime on a daily basis.
  • Success is more highly localized than it used to be. In the same week we see reports of an awesome bite and reports of skunks (sometimes even on the same day) on the same river at areas just a few miles apart.
  • The month of February into the first week of March seems to provide the most consistent bite for yellow perch (usually on minnow) overall.
  • The month of March has the best white perch action (usually on grass shrimp but bloodworms on bottom rigs can shine at times), though it usually extends into early- to mid-April in areas where the run tends to be later.
  • The run on the Eastern Shore seems to kick off a week earlier than the Western Shore.
  • Way North areas enjoy a good pre-spawn bite (in deep holes) through the early period but the actual run is delayed by another week or so as compared to the Lower Bay tribs.
  • The Way South and Coastal zones are difficult to get a read on via the reports, because reports are fewer and farther between. That’s not necessarily a function of the fish, though, because action on species like reds and tog is already beginning and steals the limelight in these areas at this time of year.
fishing from a boat
It may not exactly feel spring-like, but perch-jerking in February may be your best shot at success.

The bottom line? If you want to welcome spring with a red-hot perch bite, start earlier in the season and target areas just downriver of historic spawning zones. Once the run is on if the bite is lackluster be quick to try changing spots, because a small move could make a big change. Bring multiple baits to cover all the bases. And if you strike out don’t lose hope, because just a day or two later it could be a completely different story—and you’ll be listening to those perch nuggets crackling in the frying pan after all. C’mon dad, can we please go? Please? Puh-leeeeeeze?

Perch Regulations Pending Announcement

Many Maryland anglers will be wondering about last season’s confusion regarding a spate of warnings issued for not using circle hooks when perch fishing, even while casting a minnow on a shad dart. The DNR said at the time that new rules would be clarified by this season’s perch run. As we go to print an announcement regarding these clarifications has not yet been issued, so we suggest checking the DNR’s Changes to Fishing Regulations for the latest before you go fishing in the state's waterways.