Pike perch

Everything you always wanted to know about pike perch

Pike perch

Everything you always wanted to know about pike perch

SPECIES: Percidae

BEST FISHING TIMES: At HONEST CATCH, deep-frozen in the best quality available all year round. As a wild fish, the zander is seasonally dependent. It is mainly caught in the spring and summer months, when it migrates to shallower waters to spawn.

PREPARATION: Fried, grilled or even steamed

ARTRELATED: River perch, blackfish, North American walleye

TASTE:

The pike perch is a popular food fish with tender, juicy and almost boneless meat. It has a mild, spicy taste and a firm but tender texture. The meat can be prepared in a variety of ways, such as fried, grilled or steamed, and the crispy skin can be eaten flaked.

The pike perch prefers large, deep waters and likes to live on the bottom, where it feeds mainly on roach and other fish. With an average length of 40-50 cm and an age of up to 20 years, it is a stately fish. It belongs to the family of perch-like fish (Percidae) and is characterized by tender, juicy and almost boneless meat with a low fat content.

The pike perch (Sander lucioperca) is found throughout the northern hemisphere. Its natural range extends across eastern and northern Europe. In western, southern and northern Europe, including Germany, the Sander lucioperca is the dominant species of pike perch. In eastern Europe, the Volgazander (Sander volgensis) is found instead. In North America, the Walleye (Sander vitreus) and the Sauger (Sander canadensis) are the most common. The Sea Zander (Sander marinus) lives in the brackish water of the Baltic Sea. The pike perch is a very adaptable fish and prefers murky, slow-flowing waters with a firm bottom.

The basic color of the body is greenish-gray on the back and becomes silvery-white towards the belly. Brown marbling can be seen on the sides of the head. The fins are blackish spotted, while the pectoral and ventral fins are plain gray. Younger specimens often have up to 10 dark brown horizontal stripes on their flanks, but these usually disappear in adult animals.

The pike perch is a popular food fish. The pike perch is highly valued in gastronomy because it has a mild, spicy taste and a firm but tender texture. The meat can be prepared in a variety of ways.