Several subsequent introductions were made. By 1918, the perch was widely distributed, although not numerous in the Central Valley. The perch's failure to become abundant was in stark contrast to the populations of smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, bluegill and crappie that boomed throughout the Central Valley after being imported. The perch is now seldom caught anywhere in this drainage.

However, the DFG discovered perch in the Klamath River watershed in 1946 after the fish had apparently migrated from Oregon. They became very abundant in Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs, where they are now a staple of the fishery.

I first fished the reservoir, located in Siskiyou County near the Oregon border, in 1994 with Ron Denardi, fishing guide, and Chris Dunham, former Fish Sniffer staffer. We experienced a great day of fishing, catching lots of perch and four native rainbows to 5 pounds while fishing nightcrawlers in the Klamath River inlet.

A steelhead and salmon trip to the Klamath River on October 25, 2002 with Al Kutzkey, fishing guide, (see story), gave me the incentive to stay overnight and fish Iron Gate the following day.

I arrived at Iron Gate late the next morning and was overwhelmed by the high desert beauty of this lake on the edge of the Siskiyou Mountains. As I drove along the 7 mile shoreline, I only saw two boats fishing. I decided to head to the Klamath River inlet where I found hot perch action eight years ago.

When I arrived at Fall Creek Park, I saw three boats fishing for perch. "Are you catching any perch," I shouted out to a couple in one boat. "We're catching lots of them, but the boat fishing by the tules is doing even better," the woman replied.

I tossed out a threaded nightcrawler under a bobber about halfway between the shoreline and the couple's boat and began hooking up perch one after another. Although my first perch was small - about 7 inches - the rest were fat fish in the 8 to 10 inch range. Every time I cast out I either hooked a fish or missed a strike. This was pure fun, "pan fishing" at its best. Soon I had about 10 fish on the stringer, plus releasing a few fish.

Two young boys, Navey Soy of Sacramento and Peakday Lorm of Yreka, came over where I was fishing and asked me if I had any bobbers. I had one extra one and gave it to Soy, who quickly nailed a perch. I had put several more perch on my stringer when I realized I had lost my worm threader and was running out of bait.

I drove back up Copco Road to the Hornbrook Chevron and bought more mini-crawlers and two worm threaders. As I put the bait in the back of my truck, I heard a yell, "Hey Bacher, what are you doing here?"

Sure enough, it was Mike Ramirez of Grass Valley, who I have trout fished with before on Scotts Flat, Collins and Gold lakes with Scott Bartosh. Ramirez and his family were on their way back to Nevada City after a week in Washington and Oregon when they decided to stop for gas in Hornbrook. I told him about the outstanding perch fishing - ideal for kids and families - available at Iron Gate.

"Do you want to follow me to the reservoir?" I asked him.

"Sure, we're still on vacation and I always love to learn new fishing spots," Ramirez enthusiastically replied.

The fishing had tapered off by the time I got back, but we still caught some perch while fishing in the cove by the tules. Mike, Roam, his son, and Erinn, his daughter, nailed their first-ever yellow perch. I ended up bringing home 18 perch, as well as releasing numerous others.

Perch are caught all year, but spring and fall are the best times to nail them. If you're in a boat, look for structure and weedbeds and put your bait down near the bottom. Perch fishing is a great way to get children excited about fishing, since they're almost guaranteed to get bit. They'll find plenty of action and be even more impressed when they get home and eat the firm, delicate meat of one of the best tasting fish in fresh water.

I was impressed by the size of the perch. Fifteen years ago Iron Gate had a bad reputation for being filled with many undersized perch 4 to 6 inches long. However, increasing fishing pressure has helped thin out the perch population, producing fish of larger average size. The fish I and others caught averaged 8 to 10 inches long and fish up to 12 inches are available at Iron Gate.

The reservoir also hosts a good population of native rainbows, a landlocked form of Klamath River steelhead. Many of these fish are caught by anglers bait fishing for perch. If you want to target them, drift nightcrawlers in the river inlet or troll minnow imitation lures and nightcrawlers behind flashers.

Other species found in the lake include largemouth bass, brown bullhead catfish, bluegill and crappie. The nutrient and forage-rich lake features many weedbeds, so be prepared to bring in some annoying weeds on your line when you fish here.

The reservoir, about eight miles east of Interstate 5, was constructed in 1962. Iron Gate Dam is owned and operated by the Pacific Power Company under an agreement with the US. Bureau of Reclamation. Iron Gate Dam, an earth and rock structure, was constructed in 1962. The dam is part of a project of six hydroelectric plants that produce 18 megawatts of electricity. The reservoir, located at 2343 feet above sea level, is 1,000 surface acres when full. The reservoir's capacity is 58,000 acre feet of water.

The recreation area's three campgrounds are free for visitors. Camp Creek, located on the north branch of the reservoir, has 12 sites and water. Juniper Point, situated on the lake's west side, has nine sites and no water. Mirror Cove, located on the lake's west side south of Juniper Point, has 10 sites and no water.

Concrete boat ramps are available at Camp Creek, Mirror Cove and Long Gulch Park, along with an unimproved ramp at Fall Creek Park. Wanaka Spring Park has one boat dock/fishing pier, while Camp Creek has three boat dock/fishing piers.

For reservations or facility information, call Pacific Power, (503) 813-6666. For fishing information, call Hornbrook Chevron, (530) 475-3448. For guided fishing trips, call Albert Kutzkey, 530-842-2229.