How to catch yellow perch in Utah
Ice-fishing favorite and kid-friendly action at Fish Lake, Rockport, Jordanelle, and Hyrum. Where you find one, you'll find fifty.
Behavior & tendencies
The schooling snack that everything else eats — and a terrific target in its own right. Perch hug the bottom in big same-size schools at Fish Lake, Pineview, Rockport, and Jordanelle. Where you catch one dink, move; where you catch one jumbo, stay.
Seasonal patterns
Ice season is perch season in Utah — they school predictably on flats in 15–35 feet and bite midday. Open water fish deep weed edges in summer. Spring scatters them shallow post-spawn.
What they bite
Invertebrates, minnows, fish eggs — and notoriously, perch eyes and meat.
Recommended presentations
- Small jigging spoons tipped with wax worm or perch meat through the ice
- Tandem dropper rigs to find the school's depth fast
- Bottom-bounced worm rigs along deep weed lines in summer
Best months for yellow perch
7 waters holding yellow perch
Sorted by how they’re fishing right now.
- Fish LakeFairBlue Ribbon
- Hyrum ReservoirTough
- Deer Creek ReservoirWarning
- Echo ReservoirWarning
- Mantua ReservoirWarning
- Rockport ReservoirWarning
- Starvation ReservoirWarningBlue Ribbon