Perch are a member of the sunfish family, although they don't look like it. We cut them into fillets and, after skinning and removing the rib cage, the fillets are perfectly bone free. Average size here on Lake Erie runs from 6" to around 14" or so depending on where you are, where they are and the Summer temperature of the lake. Commercial fishermen can keep all over 8", we prefer ours to be over 9" with our average around 10-11". I'll post a link for you about Perch and Lake Erie.