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Best yellow perch lakes in North Dakota

180 North Dakota waters hold yellow perch, 177 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. 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. Devils Lake — 55 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
2. Lake Darling — 24 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
3. Stump Lake — 75 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
4. Lake Ashtabula — 42 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
5. Dry Lake — 24 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
6. Alkaline Lake — 23 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
7. Missouri River — 31 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
8. Jamestown Reservoir — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
9. Heart Butte Reservoir (Lake Tschida) — 48 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
10. Lake Audubon — 59.4 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
11. Twin Lakes — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
12. Antelope Lake — 24 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Yellow Perch
13. James River — 6 ft max · Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie, Channel Catfish
14. Powers Lake — 9 ft max · survey depth data · Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
15. Reule Lake — 24 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
16. Mount Carmel Dam — 18 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie, Yellow Perch
17. Bowman-Haley Dam — 28 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
18. Goose Lake — 20 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
19. West Lake Napoleon — 11 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
20. Lake Metigoshe — 23 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie, Bluegill
21. Mud and Pearl Lakes — 20 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Yellow Perch
22. Dickinson Reservoir (Patterson Lake) — 22 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
23. Alkali Lake — 23 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
24. Pipestem Reservoir — 26 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie, Yellow Perch
25. Sibley Lake — 28 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike

…plus 155 more North Dakota waters holding yellow perch.

When to fish yellow perch in North Dakota

• 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 North Dakota: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best white bass lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best muskellunge lakes · best common carp lakes · best goldeye lakes

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