Yellow perch are a freshwater fish with wide distribution throughout the northern hemisphere. They are abundant in North America. In Canada, they range from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, with a high concentration in the Great Lakes region. They also occur quite far north, up to the Northwest Territories and Great Slave Lake. Commonly found in lakes with clear water and some vegetation, yellow perch also thrive in rivers, streams and ponds of all sizes across the continent.

Yellow perch have a slender body with a blunt snout and a rounded tail with a slight indent. They have two dorsal fins separated by a small gap, the first hard and spiny and the second softer and blunted. Their body colour varies from golden-brown to olive to bright green on their dorsal side. This darker upper colouration splits into thick vertical bands that run down their sides, which are yellowish-green. Yellow perch can grow to a maximum length of about 30 centimetres and a weight of about half a kilogram.