Yellow Perch
Perch pull double duty at Shade's Mills — a panfish worth catching and the groceries that keep the pike fat. They school along the shoreline fishing nodes marked on the park map, and the one report from the reservoir turned up half a dozen from shore alongside the crappie. The season never closes, but the standout stretch is winter: perch are the third GRCA through-the-ice target.
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Fish small and light off the day-use shore. Perch school along the designated shoreline fishing nodes on the park map, and the single located angler report took six from that accessible bank next to the crappie catch, all on a small jig-and-grub.
The season is open year-round, so this is a fish you can chase in any month there's access. The peak window is winter: perch are one of three species the supervised GRCA ice program runs for, and a school found under the hole keeps the whole family busy.
There's no depth chart for this reservoir, so the pattern is the marked shore nodes and, in season, the reservoir-wide ice fishery — not a deep-basin search. Note too that this same perch population is a primary forage base for the reservoir's pike.
Structure
The marked shore fishing spots on the official GRCA park map where perch school — the accessible day-use bank that produced six perch in the single located angler report, on the same water as the crappie.
Yellow perch is one of three official GRCA through-the-ice targets at Shade's Mills, schooling reservoir-wide once the supervised program opens on safe ice.
Regulations
This is a summary, not the legal regulation — confirm current rules with the official source before fishing.