It is especially abundant in Manitoba lakes and in the Great Lakes drainage system. It occurs as far north as Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories. Perhaps the easiest of all fish to catch, it is taken in all seasons of the year. It responds to any type of natural bait and will also attack artificial lures. Usually it moves in large, loose schools which, when encountered, provide the angler with fast and furious activity.
Commercial fishermen catch the yellow perch with gillnets, poundnets, and trapnets.
An excellent pan fish, the flesh of the yellow perch is firm, white, and sweet-tasting. Most of the commercial catch is filleted for sale in the United States, but there is a growing market for it in Canada. It is marketed here both as the whole fish and as fillets.