Perch is a fish that can be caught in the river in Pelican Town or Cindersap Forest, the Mountain Lake, and the Cindersap Forest pond during Winter. It can also be caught in any season with Magic Bait. Outside of fishing, Perch can be obtained from a max-friendship pet cat, found in Garbage Cans during Winter, purchased randomly from the Traveling Cart, or bought once at the Feast of the Winter Star from Stone's booth.
Like other fish, Perch is usable in several different systems. It can be placed in a Fish Pond, where it reproduces every 2 days. A newly built pond starts with a capacity of 3 fish, and the capacity can be increased to 10 by completing the pond quests. Perch ponds are simple to maintain because the only fish pond output is yellow Perch Roe, along with occasional days when nothing is produced.
The fish pond quest chain for Perch asks for the following items to expand capacity:
From 3 to 5 fish: 3 Acorns, 10 Bug Meat, 3 Maple Seeds, or 3 Pine Cones
Perch is also used in crafting and dyeing. It can be placed in the Sewing Machine spool to create the Fishing Vest, and it serves as a yellow dye in the dye pots at Emily's and Haley's house. This makes it a useful fish to keep even after the Community Center and basic cooking needs are handled, since it has a few niche utility uses beyond selling.
Perch may also appear in quest requests. During Winter, one Perch can be requested at the Help Wanted board for an Item Delivery quest, and Demetrius or Willy may request 1 to 4 Perch for a Fishing quest. Demetrius can also request 10 Perch for the Aquatic Overpopulation special order. These requests are most convenient to fill with fish caught in the river, lake, or pond during Winter, though Magic Bait allows the fish to be caught year-round.
