Determining the seasonal movement patterns of fish can provide insight into their spawning behaviors, predator–prey interactions, and habitat preferences. To investigate the seasonal movement patterns of adult yellow perch and how they are affected by lake habitat characteristics, we attached ultrasonic transmitters to two length‐groups (210–235 and 250–280 mm total length) of yellow perch from populations inhabiting two temperate lakes differing in habitat diversity and basin morphology. In the simple lake, yellow perch distributions differed between seasons, mean depth and distance from shore being greatest during the summer. The observed seasonal differences were similar between the two length‐groups. In the complex lake, yellow perch depth varied seasonally, the fish occupying deeper waters during the fall and shallower ones during the summer; however, the distance from shore was consistent among seasons. During the spring, males inhabited areas closer to shore than females in the complex lake, whereas the spatial distributions did not differ between sexes in the simple basin. Yellow perch from both lakes displayed similar seasonal variation in activity, movement rates being highest during the fall and lowest during the summer. Movement rates in the simple lake, however, were higher than those in the complex lake during all three seasons, which suggests that the effectiveness of passive sampling gears may vary in response to habitat complexity. These results reveal several seasonal differences in yellow perch habitat use, distribution, and activity in relation to basin complexity that may provide insight for managers considering sampling plans for individual lake types.

To investigate the influence habitat may have on fish movement, we tagged two length-groups of adult yellow perch Perca flavescens with ultrasonic transmitters to determine diel movement patterns in two glacial lakes with differing basin morphometries and habitat characteristics. In both lakes, movement rates increased from dawn to the diurnal period, and decreased from dusk to the nocturnal period, with lowest activity in the nocturnal period. Overall, mean period movement rates for yellow perch were higher in the simple lake than in the complex lake. Offshore movement from the nocturnal to the dawn period and onshore movement from the diurnal to the nocturnal period was evident in both length-groups in the complex lake, but not evident in the simple lake. Size segregation was apparent in the complex lake, where the small lengthgroup was located farther from shore than the large length-group. Yellow perch in the simple lake most often used the deepest depths, whereas yellow perch in the complex lake used moderate depths. These results suggest that habitat characteristics and the complexity of a lake basin may have an influence on behavior and habitat use. With this insight into the movement patterns of yellow perch in two distinct types of lake basins, managers may consider refining sampling plans for individual lake types.