A Good perch Lake?

i haven't just went out and targeted perch. But seeing all of these Monsters. I want to go and try to get a few. Where should I go for the best chance to get a nice one ?

From what I am seeing Lake Athens appears to be outstanding. Not terribly far from DFW metromess .

We fly fish on Lake Gilmer Tuesday and it was non stop for four hour, lots of little ones but did get some over 7".

I caught one out of Lake Athens that was so big i couldn't grab it. I had to lip it. But that was 15 years ago.

IMO most of the lakes in your neck of the woods should have some nice size perch. If there are mature largemouth there are usually mature bluegill. Most people fish heavy line with giant floats in 3' of water and then say there are no eating size sunfish in the lake. Like any other species you have to target the big ones. The behavior of mature fish is different than juveniles. Back off the bank, use light or even ultralight tackle, and if you are catching lots of little ones move. Sometimes you don't even have to move very far.

Once again, that is just my opinion. And don't forget, the only bait you need are worms.

I know that there are little perch in Joe Pool lake. but not any of size.

Seems that Athens and anywhere south of Austin they are catching monster sunfish. For what I am seeing creeks and small hill country rivers are producing very well down here.

It has been a long time. But I caught some monsters in Lake Fork.

If you want perch you probably need to head to Minnesota.

WOW!!!!!!!! LOL. On my way right now.

From past post I have been reading over the years Athens, Caddo, Joe Pool,Fork,and Conroe seem to have some nice Bluegill. What has already been mentioned South Central Texas water bodies are all loaded with nice sunfish. Hope you find some good ones. Let us know how you do.

Joe Pool is very close to me. Fork is a 1 1/2 away, but some nice ones. Athens is also 1 1/5 hours away. have only caught 1. LOL I am going to get on some sooner or later.

OK. Could a Joe Pool Perch Specialist hit me up with confirmation? Not looking for spots. Just need to know they are in there.

Texas is loaded with plenty of good sunfish lakes. Catching sunfish is pretty simple. A worm on a hook usually gets good results. Finding the BIG ONES is another story! Anglers who target sunfish have continued success in finding and catching big sunfish. They know the patterns of the fish and how to catch them. They also usually know the water body they are fishing or what to look for in a water body holding nice sunfish. Not many anglers target sunfish. I think only point one percent (.1)of all the Texas Anglers target sunfish. Bass,catfish,Crappie,Striped Bass/White Bass,and rough fish,get 99.9 percent. Just my two cents. Knowing sunfish patterns and where to find the big ones can result in continued success in catching BIG SUNFISH! Nothing beats a sunfish fight on ultralight tackle.


Here are some good sunfish lakes that have had some good articles over the years posted about them.

#1. Fayette
#2. Dunlap (Before the dam break)
#3. Athens
#4 Lady Bird Lake
#5. Lake Austin
#6. Lake Travis
#7. Joe Pool
#8. Caddo
#9 Conroe
#10 Falcon
#11 Fork
#12.Fairfield (Making a comeback)

There are many more I am sure. Best of luck. Hope you catch some nice ones. They are super good eating!

WOW!!!! banker. Thanks for the info. I think I want to increase my Perch intake. Bring out the ultra light gear and hold on.

I heard it through the Grapevine. That Purtis Creek State Park has some Monster Perch in it.

Fork, Athens, Purtis Creek, Ray Hubbard, an pretty much anywhere in east Texas all have nice sized bully bream!

I can never find beds on Fork, just catch the occasional one or 2 off brush piles. Athens is my all time favorite but don't let the east texas lake fool ya!

A good place to find sunfish locations in Texas is to look at the Texas Parks and Wildlife waterbody record page. If the lake you are interested in has big sunfish then there is often a record for the lake indicating the size of fish in the lake.

Don't overlook Joe Pool it has some good bream in it you just have to change your mind set and fish for the bigger bream. Initially JP was stocked with the copper nosed sun fish. I am not sure they thrived. I have accidently caught nice eater sized out of JP I believe there is a TFF member by the name of Smithaven that does well out there.

They didn`t.

If you want to step up your game for trophy Bluegills and Shellcrackers CONROE is KING Hands Down! & believe it or not Fairfield has some HUGE copper Nose in it!! I`m sure some might disagree but i`m jus saying!

Seriously speaking, I've been reading about Eagle Nest lake in NM. Evidently, there is no limit. I've thought about going since it's not far from the Texas Panhandle, but I can't find much information about free camping.

I can say with complete authority there is no perch of any size in any Texas lake. Except for a few species that do not get over 3 inches or so , perch are found farther north.

However, the sunfish are in Joe Pool. Look at my posts over the last few years. While Joe Pool cannot compete with East or South Texas lakes fish up to nine inches are caught.

This is what a REAL PERCH looks like,however since there are so many Sun Fish in southern waters, and the old timers didn`t know the exact names, calling every small Sunfish a Perch was a lot easier. Even a Large Mouth Bass isn`t a true Bass.It also belongs to the Sunfish Family.JSYK

I could`nt agree more

Just so everyone will know, Joe Pool reopened yesterday. The lake is now only 2 feet high and dropping fast. With any luck we can settle the question of big sunfish next week.

LAKE tawakoni.They had plenty and big when I was a kid.
That has given the fish several decades to grow and multiply

I have caught some very nice ones at Lake Fork. But I can't pin down a location that will produce all the time.