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Best yellow perch lakes in Colorado

23 Colorado waters hold yellow perch. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The premier eating panfish. Roams soft-bottom flats and weed edges in schools — a daytime biter.

1. McPhee Reservoir — 262 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
2. Eleven Mile Res — 135 ft max · Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Common Carp
3. Horsetooth Reservoir — 188 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
4. Prewitt Reservoir — 25 ft max · Walleye, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
5. Cheesman Reservoir — 190 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch
6. Spinney Mtn Res — 46 ft max · Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Brown Trout
7. Ruedi Reservoir — 246 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout, Brown Trout
8. Chatfield Reservoir — 60 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
9. Pueblo Reservoir — 135 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
10. Boyd Lake — 16 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
11. Trinidad Reservoir — 70 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Saugeye
12. Carter Lake — 180 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Bluegill, Rainbow Trout
13. Standley Lake — 96 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
14. Strontia Springs Res — 212 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Brown Trout
15. Union Reservoir — 28 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
16. Boulder City Reservoir — 20 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie, Bluegill
17. Arvada Reservoir — 60 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish, Rainbow Trout
18. Mack Mesa Lake — 50 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
19. Puett Reservoir — 14 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie, Yellow Perch
20. Estes Lake — 45 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Muskellunge, Yellow Perch, Brown Trout
21. Lon Hagler Reservoir — 24 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
22. Milavec Reservoir — 17 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie, Bluegill
23. Jim Baker Reservoir — 24 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill

When to fish yellow perch in Colorado

• Spring 3–12 ft — Spawning runs to shallow weeds and gravel — find the school, stay on it.
• Summer 10–30 ft — Schools slide deeper to soft-bottom flats and deep weedlines.
• Fall 12–35 ft — Jumbo perch pod up on deep basin flats feeding on invertebrates.
• Winter 15–35 ft — A premier ice-fishing target — deep mud flats, small jigs.

Also in Colorado: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best saugeye lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best white bass & hybrids lakes · best common carp lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best kokanee lakes · best cutthroat trout lakes · best splake lakes

Yellow Perch elsewhere: Ontario · Minnesota · Québec · Michigan · New Hampshire · Montana · Wyoming · Massachusetts · Washington · North Dakota · Iowa · Indiana · Connecticut · Ohio · Utah · South Dakota · New York · Wisconsin · Delaware · Manitoba · Alberta · Vermont · Rhode Island · New Jersey