Next to its firm white flesh, the main attributes of the yellow perch are its striking colors, its abundance and its gullibility. Few avid sportsmen can turn down a second helping of this freshwater stimulus package.

Fortunately for New York Game & Fish readers, the Empire State boasts many productive lakes, ponds and rivers that teem with plump perch year 'round. Some of these prime fishing holes are accessible only with an ice auger, but others are so deep and vast that they don't usually freeze over and may be probed efficiently in a boat or from shore.

The perch waters we're about to describe are among the state's very best. Take a 5-gallon pail with you when you give them a try, but be mindful that state regulations limit anglers to 50 perch per day in most cases.

SILVER LAKE
All the fish that swim in Silver Lake, predator and prey alike, seem to grow to a good average size. The 9- or 10-inch perch that commonly pop through the frozen surface of the 760-acre Wyoming County lake managed to dodge hungry alewives and bluegills when they were fry, and then escaped lunker largemouths, walleyes and northern pike as they grew older.

Silver Lake is about four miles west of Letchworth State Park, near Castile. Because it is within a couple of hours of Rochester and Buffalo, it can be crowded with 100 or more hardwater enthusiasts on sunny winter weekends. Social-minded fishermen enjoy the camaraderie that results, but if you prefer a bit of solitude, visit Silver Lake on a weekday or set your tip-ups elsewhere.

To get to Silver Lake, follow U.S. Route 20 west from the Livingston County village of Avon. After crossing the Wyoming County border, turn left onto Route 246. It's about 18 miles to the village of Perry, and then another mile or so to the ice.

Public access is available from the state park at the south end of the lake or, with the proprietors' permission, at private marinas on the east shore.

Once you've arrived at the lake, either follow the footprints of previous hole-drillers or start prospecting in the 20- to 25-foot depths at the north or south ends. In the summer months, weedbeds extend into those areas, and perch tend to school along the edges of the dormant vegetation in February as well.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation's Region 9 office in Allegany, at (716) 372-0645, will supply a simple contour map of Silver Lake, and the Wyoming County tourism office, at (716) 493-3190, offers brochures for trip planning.

KEUKA LAKE
Only two bodies of water in the state, both in the Finger Lakes chain, seem capable of growing a yellow perch big enough to top the New York state record, 3 1/2-pound jumbo jack caught in Lake Erie in 1982. The two contenders happen to be next-door neighbors.

Keuka Lake, the one that's shaped like a tuning fork or a slingshot handle, is so large and deep that it forms little, if any, ice in a typically frigid western New York winter.