GET YOUR PERCH GEAR READY, IT WON’T BE LONG!
During the first few months of the hardwater season the famous Yellow Perch can be often tough to locate. They are one of the most targeted freshwater species during the ice season, pressured by many different predators. Not only do fishermen come from all over looking for these tasty panfish but so do the underwater predators as well! Northern pike and walleye feed for extended periods of time during the last few months of open water and first month of hard water calendar. This makes the perch very spooky, spread out and timid at the dinner table.
First Ice Can Be Prime Time
Generally during this time lakes are very less pressured by fishermen because most boats are put away, and the fact that we have to wait for safe ice. This reduced angling pressure would lead a fisherman to believe that first ice for perch should be a walk in the park! Well that’s not the case. You need time, patience and determination, but the rewards can be incredible if you stick to it. At this time of year it is all about locating the perch and once this factor is accomplished let the games begin!
Early Ice Location is a Puzzle
Locating Perch this time of year is often a time-consuming ordeal, so having a few fellow anglers can speed up the process. The key is covering as much ground as possible, which will also put you on the fish a lot quicker.
I like the pencil weeds spread out along shorelines known as the golden ticket!
My father refers to this area as the “The Jungle” and spends most of his winter there targeting big perch. The predators have pushed many of these perch into these areas to hide in safety. Not only does these areas provide lots of cover and safety from predators, these areas also hold a ton of food supply for the perch. Snails, freshwater shrimp, backswimmers, small minnows and many other aquatic insects inhabit these locations, allowing the perch to eat in relative safety without exposing themselves in the line of fire to big toothy predators!
Where to Drill
You want to drill your holes along and just inside the outside edge of the pencil weeds adjacent to the deeper water. Spreading each hole six to eight feet apart allows you to cover ground quickly but also effectively, ensuring you don’t miss a school of perch by having your holes too far apart. Once you have found a few perch in a small area then you can drill a pile of holes inside and outside the pencil weeds to zone in on the potential school of perch. We have caught perch in as little as 10 inches of water under the ice so don’t be scared to get right in there. Be very careful to not hit the bottom with your auger blades!
After your search holes have been drilled and things have calmed down its important to be as quiet as possible while fishing this shallow area. Walk softly and talk softly around the area you are fishing as sound travels very quickly on thin ice and in shallow water. Start fishing where you started drilling your holes and work your way along them tell you start getting action. I spend no longer then 30-60 seconds a hole to locate these fish as quick as possible because many of your strikes will come just after the initial drop of the lure. These are a reaction bite from a perch, having surprised them by dropping your lure in their face.
Lures of Choice
The spoons I use are the Pk Predator 1/16 ounce , Pk Spoon 1/8 ounce , Acme Kastmaster 1/12ounce and 1/24 ounce. These are dynamite lures to locate perch and can catch them in even the toughest conditions. Its very important to fish these baits with very little movement, very small light jigs and long pauses. This will ensure that even the most negative perch will consider biting your presentation. Often these perch are not very aggressive due to the number of predators chasing them around as well as the abundance of food they have present. In this shallow water most perch feed up and have small bite windows, so the small lures with a very subtle approach is important to entice the bite. It’s also important to have a variety of bait to tip your lures with.
Bring Your Friends!
Having a few other fishermen with you allows you to try different baits to find the one that’s working that particular day.
Mealworms, maggots, minnow heads, cut up store bought shrimp and even gummy bears are all baits that have treated me well over the years.
Once you have located a school of perch you can even down size your presentation even more if they seem to be biting light or they are in a negative state. I will then drop down to even a 1/32-ounce Acme Kastmaster spoon and also pull out the 5mm and 3mm Acme Pro Grade Tungsten jigs. The Acme tungsten jig it has treated me well over the years but there are also many other Tungsten’s jigs that work as well. Usually I will tip these tiny jigs with half a mealworm or a maggot or two. This set up can be dead sticked effectively, or jigged very lightly with long pauses as well, producing some jumbo’s.
Gearing up for Perch
When using the Pk Spoon 1/8-ounce, Pk Predator 1/16-ounce, Acme 1/12-ounce Kastmaster I prefer a longer light action rod from 28-36 inch for a number of reasons. The longer rod allows you to not have to bend over as much while trying to cover ground. You can sneak up to shallow holes while making less noise, also staying further away from the hole then you could with a shorter rod. Reaction bites often surprise a fisherman and can cause very aggressive hooksets tearing lures from the small mouths of perch. Having the light longer rod with absorption allows you to get away with big hooksets from those caught off guard.
Pike will get in the way!
When angling for perch in “The Jungle” there can be an abundance of small pike present which can be hard on your tackle. They can be played out with less stress on your line with the soft forgiving light action rod. This will also cut down on lure loss to the toothy ones. I base my size of fluorocarbon line on the abundance of pike, switching from four to eight pound test if many pike are present.
While fishing with the Acme Pro Grade Tungsten 3mm/ 5mm Jigs or 1/32, 1/24 spoons you want a longer ultralight rod. This will absorb hooksets with out tearing the small hooks out of the fish. I prefer a 28-inch Frabill quick tip with two to six pound Fluorocarbon. This also allows me to see the lightest of strikes. You need to use very light line with the tiny tungsten jigs.
RELEASE OF TROPHY PERCH CRITICAL FOR LONG TERM
I hope you all get a chance to use this effective method on your favourite perch lakes this winter. One thing I highly stress and recommend is the release of trophy giant perch. Over the years we have landed the same perch as many as three different times that we know of. Going off distinctive markings or scars/ damaged fins and pictures for proof that this method works. I like to keep eight to 11-inch fish for the frying pan and only keep what I’m going to eat. Many lakes have been damaged by over harvest . If we all respect these jumbos this will ensure our future generations don’t think grandpa is telling fish stories and these Jumbo Perch really exist!