White perch are members if the temperate/true bass (morone sp.) family, along with stripers, white bass, yellow bass, and their hybrids. They can have a cyclical pattern to their populations, which can explain the white perch problem from the article, along with the boom/bust of white bass on priest lake, center hill, dale hollow, etc. The temperate bass family tends to be more stable in river-run lakes due to an abundance of spawning sites in the tributaries and riverine sections of these types of lakes, though, which is why the Cumberland River system seems to maintain a healthy population of native species (whites and yellows). Stripers are the exception due to the fact that our lakes are not ideal for them to spawn successfully.
There is a lot of info on striper spawn studies available that are worth a look simply to determine where to fish for them during their spawning runs in the spring. Do some research on the web if you're interested in tying into a big cow striper...you may be surprised where they will be and even more pleasantly surprised by the fact that they feed aggressively during the spawn.
Chris Bryant
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