River perch is a medium-sized fish. His body has a length of up to fifty centimeters. The mass of river perch is up to a kilogram. In rare cases, you can meet very large individuals, the mass of which reaches two to two and a half kilograms.
His body has a compressed shape from the sides. The back is colored dark green, and the sides are greenish yellow. Five to nine transverse dark stripes pass along the sides. The belly is yellowish. The perch has yellow pectoral fins, the rest are red. His eyes are orange. The perch has spines on its dorsal fin. These thorns are not poisonous, but their injections can be quite painful.
The considered river fish does not have a name other than the one indicated above. It lives in fresh water bodies of various types: lakes, reservoirs, flowing ponds, and so on. Large individuals can be found in deep places, small ones - in backwaters, in thickets of aquatic plants, in bays. River perch lives in those places where there is enough oxygen. Its habitat reaches the Lena River itself in Siberia.
Reproduction begins by individuals who have reached three to four years. Females begin to spawn in early spring on last year's plants, shrubs, driftwood or any other wood trash. Eggs can be from twelve to one hundred thousand pieces. All eggs are in special gelatinous ribbons. There they lie in small (three to five pieces) heaps. After about two weeks, larvae hatch from eggs. Their length is about four to five millimeters. They are well developed and soon turn into fry, which are able to live independently.
The young perch eats various small animals that live in the water: these are worms, insect larvae, and other invertebrates. An adult is considered a real predator. She eats not only insects living in the water column, but also other fish. The predator hides in an ambush and lies in wait for its prey. Along with this, river perch is food for other animals - fish and birds. So, catfish, zander, pike feed on them, terns, gulls and other birds often attack.
Perch is an object of fishing. It is believed that it can always be caught. Perch lives in the entire water column, from coastal thickets to deep holes. He is not considered an active nomad. As a rule, perch tries to adhere to one specific territory, its living space.
In the spring, they begin to catch perch from the moment the ice melts. Due to the widespread distribution, it becomes quite easy prey even for novice fishermen. Spawning ends at the perch around the middle of May. From this time he begins to hunt. And from that time, fishing for perch in the summer begins.
They are looking for him, mainly by his battle, visually. Perch loves to hunt openly and chase after its prey or immediately after the flock. It should be said that perch is very passionate. He pays no attention to anything and in the pursuit race can even jump ashore. In summer, most often, perch can be found on rocky sections of the bottom with a dump in depth or ascent. Small individuals often hide in ambushes, on the border with clean water, in hard vegetation.
Experienced fishermen advise to pay more attention to deep whirlpools and pits. It is more likely to catch a large individual than in coastal waters. To attract fish in the second half of the summer season, you can stir up water in the place of fishing. If the bottom is populated in such places by bloodworms or other hunting objects common for perch, then fishing can be very successful.
By autumn, the perch begins to experience pre-winter zhor. In flocks, individuals rush through the water. They are looking for clusters of fry and small fish. Having found the prey, they start indiscriminately grabbing everything.