Their name comes from their habit of darting from place to place. Because of their small size and habitat preference, darters are not actively fished for and rarely seen by the public. While this feature does allow darters to easily remain on bottom, it requires that they physically swim up from the bottom, rather than float. Reproduction for darters differs from other perch. Spawning occurs from late March through June.
Males become brilliantly colored and perform elaborate dances while courting females.
Eggs are carefully placed in preselected locations and are often protected by the males until hatching. In this article, darters will be treated as a single group. Yellow Perch Yellow perch are important panfish in New York State. They are relatively easy to catch and are often one of the first fish caught by youngsters and beginners. While yellow perch are found throughout the State in a variety of habitats, they prefer shallow, weedy protected sections of rivers, lakes, and ponds.