Kevin Naze

Andrew Berken, of Pulaski, was fishing with his dad, Kevin, and 2-1⁄2-year-old daughter, Finnley, when he struck gold in the waters off Door County Feb. 11.
“I have a few good trophy perch spots scattered around the Larson’s Reef area near Sturgeon Bay,” Berken said.
The first area was devoid of angling competition, so they set up in that spot first.

Outside of some decent catches of “jumbos” from shore and small boats around the Wisconsin-Illinois border, Lake Michigan’s yellow perch fishery has declined significantly from its peak that came more than a half-century ago.
Catches from the big lake were still fair to good in spots during the 1980s, but the decline coincided with the arrival and spread of zebra and quagga mussels. It’s a different story on Green Bay’s shallower, more nutrient-rich water, with yellow perch providing plenty of fishing action and meals all year, except during a two-month spawning closure.