McClane’ s Fish Buyer’s Guide: White Seaperch — (A) Flavor: mild (B) Texture: soft (C) Flake: small (D) Fat Content: low (E) Odor (Raw): mild: (F) Color after Cooking: white (G) Cooking Methods: pan-saute, deep-fry, poach or steam
McClane’ s Fish Buyer’s Guide: Pile Perch— (A) Flavor: mild (B) Texture: soft (C) Flake: fine (D) Fat Content: low (E) Odor (Raw): mild: (F) Color after Cooking: off white (G) Cooking Methods: all methods
McClane’ s Fish Buyer’s Guide: Striped Seaperch — (A) Flavor: mild (B) Texture: soft (C) Flake: small (D) Fat Content: low (E) Odor (Raw): mild: (F) Color after Cooking: white (G) Cooking Methods: pan saute or deep-fry
McClane’ s Fish Buyer’s Guide: Walleye Surfperch — (A) Flavor: mild (B) Texture: soft (C) Flake: small (D) Fat Content: low (E) Odor (Raw): mild: (F) Color after Cooking: white (G) Cooking Methods: pan-saute or deep-fry
See the separate post on cooking the large surfperch—Barred, Calico and Redtail Surfperch.
Posted by stinkyfingers on December 13, 2000
Perch/Frying Pan?
Perch are small. I figure since so many really target them so they must be good eatin'. Ron (old tackle tips) spends his time fishing for perch EXCLUSIVELY. 'Slinger's out there nailing them (maybe not keeping though). Kim also sets out for them...
Well, are they? (Good eatin' that is.) If so, which are the best and which are not? Can you compare the flavor to any other fish or food? Thanks guys, I've never caught one, or even seen one in close proximity.
Posted by Songslinger
It's true, perch can be very tasty. They lend themselves to a wide variety of cooking styles, all delicious. But that may not be why many people fish for them. Perch, pound per pound, are engaging fighters. Ask anyone who fishes for perch what he'd do if perch got to be the size of striped bass. You will get one hell of a reaction, I promise you. Use a light freshwater setup and you will be turned on like a strobelight. Another appealing feature of perch fishing is...quantity. They school, and when the bite is one you will get slammed on nearly every cast. (I always have 5 rigs tied, hooked, and weighted before I go out; when I get to my spot I will have two or three rigs baited just so I can keep the action going.) One of the most memorable experiences I had was a few years ago on the rocks adjacent Berkeley Pier. In two hours I caught and released 22 black perch. That's right, averaging one every five minutes. It was all I could do to keep up with the action. By the time the bite slowed I was worn out. Good way to be fatigued!
Posted by Salty Nick
Perch=fun, Eating=so/so
Songslinger is right, perch put up a good fight for their size, must be their flat shape. If you get a big one on, they can be pretty fun — even better if you run into a school of them. Although, because they rarely get real large, you can still muscle them in.
As far as eating, they are not bad. I like the bigger ones, because the flesh is firmer and they have less bones (but even the big ones tend to have small bones, and their flesh tends to be a little mushy). I've had them dipped in flour and pan-fried and also steamed Chinese-style, with soy sauce and green onions and I tend to like the latter. H. Salty Esquire
Posted by Ken Jones
Perch are one of my favorite fish to catch for the reasons already mentioned, especially their fighting ability and the quantity you can catch. As for their food value, they're fair to good but I must admit that I rarely eat them any more. When the kids were small I used to fillet them and what you generally had when you ended were two small fillets maybe an inch or so wide, 4-5 inches long, and not very thick. I filleted them because I was concerned about the small pin bones/rib bones (which may not be a problem if you are just feeding adults). Obviously it took quite a few fillets for a meal but since most of the perch are schooling when you catch them it was generally easy to catch enough for a meal. As for walleye surfperch and silver surfperch, two species that are very common but also typically smaller, the cooking method was to clean them and pan fry them — but rarely did I give them to my kids.
The preferred perch were barred-calico-redtail surfperch from the beaches, but blackperch, pileperch, white seaperch, rubberlip, rainbow and striped seaperch were also caught and used. Most of the latter species are common in both San Francisco Bay and at oceanfront piers but (with some exceptions) their edibility is not what it once was, or at least it seems that way. In certain locations they will sometimes have an off taste while in other locations they are fine but it seems a waste to me to kill them on the chance they may taste o.k. Perch caught in the ocean seem to have a better taste but others may disagree. As said, I rarely eat perch any longer. If other species are caught and I keep them to eat I eat them first. If the only fish around are perch then I may keep them to eat, but rarely do I do that any longer. PS, during the time that the female perch are carrying their live offspring their flesh is the least edible (for a variety of reasons). Unfortunately, that is also when you find some of the species in their largest concentrations. Thus when they are least fit to eat is when you sometimes will catch the most.
Whatever your reason for fishing for them — food or sport -—you will find perch a desirable fish from California to Washington.
Posted by realdrums on January 31, 2002
Perhaps it's just me, but I have never eaten a perch that even came close to what I would consider a quality "good eating" fish! So soft and nothing appealing about the taste! Not yuk, just blah! Anyone else agree?
Posted by Donald Evans
I would agree that they don't taste like halibut or bass, but if they're breaded and fried they taste pretty darn good!!!
Posted by lucy
They're nor that great, although some are better than others. Songslinger posted a message a few weeks ago listing his preferences in perch, with black perch being the best and going down from there. In my own experience, the silver-colored perch (walleye, pile, silver, white) all seem to be noticeably mushier than, say, striped perch or black perch.
Haiko (not sure of the spelling) at Hi's Tackle Box told me of this method that is supposed to improve both the flavor and texture: If the perch are large enough to filet, filet them and then salt the fillets lightly on both sides, put on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and leave in the fridge overnight. I haven't actually tried this, so I can't vouch for whether it works. Even so, perch just aren't in the same league as rockfish or halibut!
Posted by tomaurand
I agree with Lucy that the silver perches are mushy. I really love the black perch, striped, rainbow and pile perch. I always fillet the fish and then soak the fillets in milk and a little mustard in the fridge for about an hour. then bread, egg wash and bread again then fry. they come out really tasty in my book. That's why I spend the money on a couple dozen pile worms when Shannon and I fish. She loves the taste as well. Tom
Posted by Ernie Johnson
They are all good smoked, even though they aren't very big. Ernie J
Posted by Black Marlin
For me and other veteran perch fisherman I know the experience has been quite the contrary. I consider redtail perch the best eating followed by rubberlip and black perch. Also, small walleye perch are excellent quickly fried and eaten with lemon. The best tasting perch for my money have come from the ocean, although Tiburon perch are pretty good. I usually barbecue perch. Marlin
Posted by castlebravo
I usually brush with melted butter sprinkle with home made Cajun spice and fry in a non-stick pan with no oil. I also have a stove top smoker.
Posted by Red Fish
Perch are very tasty and I consider them one of my favorite fish. Some nice ocean perch like rainbows are excellent. Filleted and fried, I like perch as much as rockfish or sole!
Posted by eelmaster on December 6, 2003
Subject: flavor rating — As much as a lot of people see "meat fisherman" as a negative description of anglers I do not. I eat most of what I catch. I also release a lot of fish. Because of this, I know what fish I like to eat and what I don't. For example, if I can catch two grassies, I will keep both. They're good eats. However I will release EVERY greenling I catch. So my question is this. Rate the flavor of different perch. I have only eaten striped perch and redtail perch. I find the striped perch to be great fighters, but one of the worst eating fish I have ever had. However, the redtail (while not as good as rockfish) to be quite good. What is the opinion of others who may eat perch on a regular basis? Monte, Support UPSAC
Posted by Salty Nick
Not a big perch eater. Used to like them more, until I started catching rockfish. I agree, striped perch have some of the mushiest flesh, and I generally won't keep them. I like the redtail, walleye and barred perch a little better. But I'll still take rockfish over any perch. Same feelings as you on greenlings, not a big fan — I rarely keep them anymore. A slight step above perch. Salty.
Posted by Songslinger
Mr. Perch's Hierarchy:
Best Eaters:
Barred Perch
Black Perch
Pile Perch
Redtail Perch
Striped Perch
Calico Perch
Rubberlip Perch
Rainbow Perch
Silver Perch
White Perch
Walleye Perch
Best Fighters:
Black Perch
Barred Perch
Striped Perch
Pile Perch
Rubberlip Perch
Redtail Perch
Calico Perch
Rainbow Perch
Walleye Perch
White Perch
Silver Perch
Posted by blahblahblah
Hmm. Strangely, I think I liked the one walleye I've eaten better than the barred and striped, of which I've had many —particularly barred. There wasn't much meat on it, and really I only kept it out of curiosity, but it was tasty. Dredged in flour and cornmeal and fried, if I remember right. I agree about rockfish being better than perch, though think striped perch are fine, as are barred. But if you're used to the big slabs of meat you get with most of the major commercial fish it's a totally different thing. My dad loves sanddabs and petrale sole, both of which are rather delicate in texture and taste, so I grew up eating them in addition to "snapper" and salmon and halibut and stuff — maybe that's why I like perch. I'm not very successful with the rockfish yet, but I think I'd probably end up more likely to keep a perch than a rockfish because I like perch and they seem to be a much more sustainable resource. Greenling are OK but not notably better than perch. A bit firmer perhaps, but they seem to have a sort of gelatinous quality. Maybe that would make them good in a bouillabaisse or cioppinno, I'll have to try it. But I have to say my personal favorite is cabezon, followed very, very closely by the entirely different sardine (must be absolutely fresh).
Posted by kin
I can't really say which type of perch can be the best, although i am very sure that if you change the way you cook the perch, the texture and taste would change dramatically, for example, when salted lightly over night and fried to a crisp the next day, the striped perch is really good, however, do this to a walleye and you'll get something that is way too salty and less meat. of course, this applies to the perch I've caught up off Highway 1.
Posted by Ken Jones
I must take a little different slant...because although I do think certain perch are better table fare than others, I also think it an attribute mutabile depending upon season and geographic area.
As a general rule I prefer the larger surfperch — barred, redtail and calico — in that order.
Next, because I prefer to fillet the perch, would be the larger fish that I usually call seaperch (because they are as common in bays as in surf areas) — rubberlip, pile, black, striped, rainbow and white in no particular order.
Last would be the smaller perch that are best pan-fried whole because of their size — walleye and silver. Although I know some people eat even the smaller fish in this category — shiners, spotfins, kelp, reef and dwarf, I've never tried them because of their small size.
In almost every case I find perch caught in surf areas to be preferable to those caught in bays. I also find that perch caught in different parts of bays can be quite different depending upon the water quality and conditions in the bay. I also believe that perch caught in the colder, more northern latitudes are firmer and thus a little tastier than their southern cousins. Lastly, perch that are caught, kept and eaten while in a gravid condition are generally inferior to perch caught at other times of the year. The young, nestled inside their mother's womb, are using her vital nutrients for their own existence and their gain is the angler's loss — one more reason why gravid perch should be released.
Posted by cougar
Amen Mr. Jones...W/ya 100%...except bbq'ed/smoked redtail my fav... When you let coals burn down a ways and have them on one side of Weber...cook perch on top of cooking tray indirect method w/ lid on for 1/2 hr or so. Put water, lemon, garlic, wine etc...skin and bones fall right off and all meat is cooked moistly.
Makes for lots for meat w/out having to scale or clean fish. Just gut it, that’s it... Also works great for catfish w/out having to skin it...after an hr or so the meat comes out like a lobster tail... Actually did it w/ a turkey for 4 hrs and the white meat was still moist and fell off the bone.... Lazy man's way of cooking while watching sporting events on tv....
McClane’ s Fish Buyer’s Guide: Pile Perch— (A) Flavor: mild (B) Texture: soft (C) Flake: fine (D) Fat Content: low (E) Odor (Raw): mild: (F) Color after Cooking: off white (G) Cooking Methods: all methods
McClane’ s Fish Buyer’s Guide: Striped Seaperch — (A) Flavor: mild (B) Texture: soft (C) Flake: small (D) Fat Content: low (E) Odor (Raw): mild: (F) Color after Cooking: white (G) Cooking Methods: pan saute or deep-fry
McClane’ s Fish Buyer’s Guide: Walleye Surfperch — (A) Flavor: mild (B) Texture: soft (C) Flake: small (D) Fat Content: low (E) Odor (Raw): mild: (F) Color after Cooking: white (G) Cooking Methods: pan-saute or deep-fry
See the separate post on cooking the large surfperch—Barred, Calico and Redtail Surfperch.
Posted by stinkyfingers on December 13, 2000
Perch/Frying Pan?
Perch are small. I figure since so many really target them so they must be good eatin'. Ron (old tackle tips) spends his time fishing for perch EXCLUSIVELY. 'Slinger's out there nailing them (maybe not keeping though). Kim also sets out for them...
Well, are they? (Good eatin' that is.) If so, which are the best and which are not? Can you compare the flavor to any other fish or food? Thanks guys, I've never caught one, or even seen one in close proximity.
Posted by Songslinger
It's true, perch can be very tasty. They lend themselves to a wide variety of cooking styles, all delicious. But that may not be why many people fish for them. Perch, pound per pound, are engaging fighters. Ask anyone who fishes for perch what he'd do if perch got to be the size of striped bass. You will get one hell of a reaction, I promise you. Use a light freshwater setup and you will be turned on like a strobelight. Another appealing feature of perch fishing is...quantity. They school, and when the bite is one you will get slammed on nearly every cast. (I always have 5 rigs tied, hooked, and weighted before I go out; when I get to my spot I will have two or three rigs baited just so I can keep the action going.) One of the most memorable experiences I had was a few years ago on the rocks adjacent Berkeley Pier. In two hours I caught and released 22 black perch. That's right, averaging one every five minutes. It was all I could do to keep up with the action. By the time the bite slowed I was worn out. Good way to be fatigued!
Posted by Salty Nick
Perch=fun, Eating=so/so
Songslinger is right, perch put up a good fight for their size, must be their flat shape. If you get a big one on, they can be pretty fun — even better if you run into a school of them. Although, because they rarely get real large, you can still muscle them in.
As far as eating, they are not bad. I like the bigger ones, because the flesh is firmer and they have less bones (but even the big ones tend to have small bones, and their flesh tends to be a little mushy). I've had them dipped in flour and pan-fried and also steamed Chinese-style, with soy sauce and green onions and I tend to like the latter. H. Salty Esquire
Posted by Ken Jones
Perch are one of my favorite fish to catch for the reasons already mentioned, especially their fighting ability and the quantity you can catch. As for their food value, they're fair to good but I must admit that I rarely eat them any more. When the kids were small I used to fillet them and what you generally had when you ended were two small fillets maybe an inch or so wide, 4-5 inches long, and not very thick. I filleted them because I was concerned about the small pin bones/rib bones (which may not be a problem if you are just feeding adults). Obviously it took quite a few fillets for a meal but since most of the perch are schooling when you catch them it was generally easy to catch enough for a meal. As for walleye surfperch and silver surfperch, two species that are very common but also typically smaller, the cooking method was to clean them and pan fry them — but rarely did I give them to my kids.
The preferred perch were barred-calico-redtail surfperch from the beaches, but blackperch, pileperch, white seaperch, rubberlip, rainbow and striped seaperch were also caught and used. Most of the latter species are common in both San Francisco Bay and at oceanfront piers but (with some exceptions) their edibility is not what it once was, or at least it seems that way. In certain locations they will sometimes have an off taste while in other locations they are fine but it seems a waste to me to kill them on the chance they may taste o.k. Perch caught in the ocean seem to have a better taste but others may disagree. As said, I rarely eat perch any longer. If other species are caught and I keep them to eat I eat them first. If the only fish around are perch then I may keep them to eat, but rarely do I do that any longer. PS, during the time that the female perch are carrying their live offspring their flesh is the least edible (for a variety of reasons). Unfortunately, that is also when you find some of the species in their largest concentrations. Thus when they are least fit to eat is when you sometimes will catch the most.
Whatever your reason for fishing for them — food or sport -—you will find perch a desirable fish from California to Washington.
Posted by realdrums on January 31, 2002
Perhaps it's just me, but I have never eaten a perch that even came close to what I would consider a quality "good eating" fish! So soft and nothing appealing about the taste! Not yuk, just blah! Anyone else agree?
Posted by Donald Evans
I would agree that they don't taste like halibut or bass, but if they're breaded and fried they taste pretty darn good!!!
Posted by lucy
They're nor that great, although some are better than others. Songslinger posted a message a few weeks ago listing his preferences in perch, with black perch being the best and going down from there. In my own experience, the silver-colored perch (walleye, pile, silver, white) all seem to be noticeably mushier than, say, striped perch or black perch.
Haiko (not sure of the spelling) at Hi's Tackle Box told me of this method that is supposed to improve both the flavor and texture: If the perch are large enough to filet, filet them and then salt the fillets lightly on both sides, put on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and leave in the fridge overnight. I haven't actually tried this, so I can't vouch for whether it works. Even so, perch just aren't in the same league as rockfish or halibut!
Posted by tomaurand
I agree with Lucy that the silver perches are mushy. I really love the black perch, striped, rainbow and pile perch. I always fillet the fish and then soak the fillets in milk and a little mustard in the fridge for about an hour. then bread, egg wash and bread again then fry. they come out really tasty in my book. That's why I spend the money on a couple dozen pile worms when Shannon and I fish. She loves the taste as well. Tom
Posted by Ernie Johnson
They are all good smoked, even though they aren't very big. Ernie J
Posted by Black Marlin
For me and other veteran perch fisherman I know the experience has been quite the contrary. I consider redtail perch the best eating followed by rubberlip and black perch. Also, small walleye perch are excellent quickly fried and eaten with lemon. The best tasting perch for my money have come from the ocean, although Tiburon perch are pretty good. I usually barbecue perch. Marlin
Posted by castlebravo
I usually brush with melted butter sprinkle with home made Cajun spice and fry in a non-stick pan with no oil. I also have a stove top smoker.
Posted by Red Fish
Perch are very tasty and I consider them one of my favorite fish. Some nice ocean perch like rainbows are excellent. Filleted and fried, I like perch as much as rockfish or sole!
Posted by eelmaster on December 6, 2003
Subject: flavor rating — As much as a lot of people see "meat fisherman" as a negative description of anglers I do not. I eat most of what I catch. I also release a lot of fish. Because of this, I know what fish I like to eat and what I don't. For example, if I can catch two grassies, I will keep both. They're good eats. However I will release EVERY greenling I catch. So my question is this. Rate the flavor of different perch. I have only eaten striped perch and redtail perch. I find the striped perch to be great fighters, but one of the worst eating fish I have ever had. However, the redtail (while not as good as rockfish) to be quite good. What is the opinion of others who may eat perch on a regular basis? Monte, Support UPSAC
Posted by Salty Nick
Not a big perch eater. Used to like them more, until I started catching rockfish. I agree, striped perch have some of the mushiest flesh, and I generally won't keep them. I like the redtail, walleye and barred perch a little better. But I'll still take rockfish over any perch. Same feelings as you on greenlings, not a big fan — I rarely keep them anymore. A slight step above perch. Salty.
Posted by Songslinger
Mr. Perch's Hierarchy:
Best Eaters:
Barred Perch
Black Perch
Pile Perch
Redtail Perch
Striped Perch
Calico Perch
Rubberlip Perch
Rainbow Perch
Silver Perch
White Perch
Walleye Perch
Best Fighters:
Black Perch
Barred Perch
Striped Perch
Pile Perch
Rubberlip Perch
Redtail Perch
Calico Perch
Rainbow Perch
Walleye Perch
White Perch
Silver Perch
Posted by blahblahblah
Hmm. Strangely, I think I liked the one walleye I've eaten better than the barred and striped, of which I've had many —particularly barred. There wasn't much meat on it, and really I only kept it out of curiosity, but it was tasty. Dredged in flour and cornmeal and fried, if I remember right. I agree about rockfish being better than perch, though think striped perch are fine, as are barred. But if you're used to the big slabs of meat you get with most of the major commercial fish it's a totally different thing. My dad loves sanddabs and petrale sole, both of which are rather delicate in texture and taste, so I grew up eating them in addition to "snapper" and salmon and halibut and stuff — maybe that's why I like perch. I'm not very successful with the rockfish yet, but I think I'd probably end up more likely to keep a perch than a rockfish because I like perch and they seem to be a much more sustainable resource. Greenling are OK but not notably better than perch. A bit firmer perhaps, but they seem to have a sort of gelatinous quality. Maybe that would make them good in a bouillabaisse or cioppinno, I'll have to try it. But I have to say my personal favorite is cabezon, followed very, very closely by the entirely different sardine (must be absolutely fresh).
Posted by kin
I can't really say which type of perch can be the best, although i am very sure that if you change the way you cook the perch, the texture and taste would change dramatically, for example, when salted lightly over night and fried to a crisp the next day, the striped perch is really good, however, do this to a walleye and you'll get something that is way too salty and less meat. of course, this applies to the perch I've caught up off Highway 1.
Posted by Ken Jones
I must take a little different slant...because although I do think certain perch are better table fare than others, I also think it an attribute mutabile depending upon season and geographic area.
As a general rule I prefer the larger surfperch — barred, redtail and calico — in that order.
Next, because I prefer to fillet the perch, would be the larger fish that I usually call seaperch (because they are as common in bays as in surf areas) — rubberlip, pile, black, striped, rainbow and white in no particular order.
Last would be the smaller perch that are best pan-fried whole because of their size — walleye and silver. Although I know some people eat even the smaller fish in this category — shiners, spotfins, kelp, reef and dwarf, I've never tried them because of their small size.
In almost every case I find perch caught in surf areas to be preferable to those caught in bays. I also find that perch caught in different parts of bays can be quite different depending upon the water quality and conditions in the bay. I also believe that perch caught in the colder, more northern latitudes are firmer and thus a little tastier than their southern cousins. Lastly, perch that are caught, kept and eaten while in a gravid condition are generally inferior to perch caught at other times of the year. The young, nestled inside their mother's womb, are using her vital nutrients for their own existence and their gain is the angler's loss — one more reason why gravid perch should be released.
Posted by cougar
Amen Mr. Jones...W/ya 100%...except bbq'ed/smoked redtail my fav... When you let coals burn down a ways and have them on one side of Weber...cook perch on top of cooking tray indirect method w/ lid on for 1/2 hr or so. Put water, lemon, garlic, wine etc...skin and bones fall right off and all meat is cooked moistly.
Makes for lots for meat w/out having to scale or clean fish. Just gut it, that’s it... Also works great for catfish w/out having to skin it...after an hr or so the meat comes out like a lobster tail... Actually did it w/ a turkey for 4 hrs and the white meat was still moist and fell off the bone.... Lazy man's way of cooking while watching sporting events on tv....
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