What water temperature do perch feed best in?
The comfort band is roughly 17–23 °C (63–73 °F) — a true cool-water fish, slotted between the warm-water bass and the cold-water trout. Metabolism, and therefore feeding, peaks in that band, which at Great Lakes and southern Canadian latitudes means early summer and again in fall. The more useful fact is how wide the working range is: perch feed measurably from near 0 °C (32 °F) under ice up to about 26–27 °C (79–81 °F), so the question is rarely whether they are eating but where the comfortable water is.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about Temperature & metabolism
Same topic, other species
- What water temperature are crappie most active in? — Crappie
- What is the best water temperature range for largemouth fishing? — Largemouth Bass
- Are muskie a warmer-water fish than pike? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- Why do the big pike disappear from the shallows every summer? — Northern Pike
- Are smallmouth as cold-front sensitive as largemouth? — Smallmouth Bass
- Why is 20 °C (68 °F) the famous cutoff for trout catch-and-release? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)
- What is the walleye's ideal water temperature? — Walleye