Perch near Salem?

[Hoj]

Good Morning! I am new to the OFF and relatively new to the Willamette Valley. I would like to find a reliable perch fishery within an hour or two of Salem. Perch are delicious eating and a great for new and young fisherman. I have a boat, and have tried a couple of places but haven't found a lake that consistently produces good numbers of perch in a decent size. Any starting points for me to consider?

 

[plumbertom]

I've tried a couple of the coastal lakes for yellow perch and although they seem plentiful (maybe too much so?) they seem stunted in size.

 

[troutdude]

I've lived in the mid-valley for nearly 60 years. And have never seen a perch over 11, maybe 12, inches. With 99% of them even shorter. If there's a place anywhere around here with larger perch, I haven't found it. Nor even heard of it. Sorry. But I think that's all we have around here. Unless someone else out there knows of a such a place...........

 

[Hoj]

Well, my daughter and I fished Munsell Lake yesterday for perch. We brought home probably 20 fish that were small to medium, say 7"-9". There were lots of smaller ones we threw back and we kept a few for catfish bait for a trip later this summer. And of course a ton of bait stealers. I had a brief conversation with a park ranger who said he had caught perch at Triangle Lake. Did a little reading about that, sounds like a busy place, for both fisherman and and water sports. Does anyone know anything about perch at Triangle?

Am I getting the sense that small to medium perch are the norm? Even for say the big lakes like Siltcoos, Tahkenitch and Woahink? Has anyone consistently found perch in the say 9"-11" range anywhere? Or is "Troutdude's" summary pretty accurate?

 

[troutdude]

@Hoj back in the 80's or maybe 90's my dad, uncle, and I got into them in serious numbers at Siltcoos. However none were over 11".