South Haven PERCH!

[SPOONWASHER]

Hit up the perch this morning. We went south to in front of Deerlick first thing and we must have just been on top of a bunch of them. Kept 25 fish from this area and had to weed out some small ones. It seemed like our boat and a few other boats real close were the only ones really doing well. Must have been tightly schooled, well anyways fished there for 2hours and caught most of the fish in the first hour then nothing.

Ran down to the 3rd dune I believe and got into the pack which usually isn't our first choice. Several boats pulling in smaller ones with the occasional keeper. We moved a little and picked our way at a few. Eventually we sat close to a boat that was hauling in fish after fish after fish! Could not figure out what we were doing wrong?? We sat there getting a fish every once in awhile but they had constant fast action. But they eventually got their limit and we gladly took their spot. Once we hit that spot it was like a light switch was turned on. Got real fast and furious for awhile but there were quite a few small fish. Again other boats around us weren't doing as good but were still catching fish. It was all about finding that one hot spot and that hot spot was pretty small. Ended up with somewhere close to 60 nice fish with an occasional big one. Good luck guys! Oh yeah we fished at first in 25fow and ended up by the dunes in 15fow. Also saw a guy land a nice salmon or steelhead on his perch rig in 15fow!! Brought the underwater camera along and got to see some huge schools of alewife move through! Beautiful day to spend on the water...

[Wasabi]

Approximatlely how far south are Deerlick and the 3rd dune?

[SPOONWASHER]

Im not exactly sure. Id be willing to bet that someone else could help you out but I think 4 to 5 miles. You will know where they are because there will be a big pack of boats and the dunes are huge..cant miss em! The creek is harder to identify but there are 5 houses one right after another and then a huge gap and then a really big brown house. The creek is farther north then the dunes and the dunes are just north of the power plant.

[mj6131]

Deerlick is about 2 1/2 miles down

[SPOONWASHER]

Thats what I was thinking and the dunes are 4-5

[GLF]

Nice job Justin!

[its an addiction]

Don't mean to hijack your thread, but I plan on going out of South Haven for my first time Saturday morning. Gonna troll early am and try for perch in the afternoon.

Where is the closest launch to the lake?

Thanks...

[tdoerr]

I can't reply but i to may be going to south haven saturday. I'm comming from lansing , could anyone give me the location of the closest launch and bait shop. ? Thank in advance. Any fish will do

[Adam Bomb]

Nice job Justin. Good to hear about the yellowbellies now and then. Tasty little devils.

[Fishwhisperer]

I can't reply but i to may be going to south haven saturday. I'm comming from lansing , could anyone give me the location of the closest launch and bait shop. ? Thank in advance. Any fish will do

The closest bait shop is Pyle's Port Hole. To get there, take Phoenix west to the second stop light and turn right. Go approx. 1/8 of a mile a hang a right on Dunkley (right before the bridge). Pyle's is about a 100 yards down on the right. The boat launch is just down the road from there...maybe 500 feet. The cost for the launch is $7 and it has a gate. It also has a fish cleaning station.

Good luck out there and be safe this weekend.

[joelsanders]

Yum! Great job gettin on em

[tdoerr]

Fishwhisperer thanks for the directions . any fish will do.

[Wasabi]

PERCH PERCH PERCH PERCH PERCH PERCH PERCH PERCH!

Thanks again for the tip on Deerlick for Perch. Dropped anchor just north of the pack in 33 FOW. Got steady perch action all day on minnows and nice size too. Best perch fishing I've had in 3 years. Didn't move once all day. Doubles and jumbos, very few throwbacks, and NOT ONE GOBIE!

We did however have a big surprise catch - ~12-15# CATFISH on my bear paw perch rig w/ 6# test on an ultralight! Did I mention we didn't bring the net on the boat today? GRRRRRRRRRR. I can grab a steelhead, walleye, or salmon no issue, but not sure how to pick up a catfish, let alone clean it didn't want to! ? :confused: Managed to get one photo with the new phone from 10 foot away, but couldn't get it to take more with the bad boy alongside the gunwale 3 times. Ready to go again!

[SPOONWASHER]

I have been up north but thanks for a update on the perch! How many fish did you get Rough Diamond? I bet that cat put up a good fight!!

[Wasabi]

We ended up with over 50 in a few hours time. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him, I thought for sure it was a laker, walleye, or salmon down there, no jumps, but quite the good time for about 10 minutes. Good luck!

[SUPERTRAMP]

The MC2 was right there just out from Deerlick Sunday in about 28 FOW Managed to boat some nice Perch and just a few Gobies, ended up with 22 in about 1 hour got too hot for the rest of the people on the boat so we headed for the slip and a nice steak dinner. A fellow in the Slip just down from me got a catfish too. Not sure if that was you or not but they are easy to clean. Drive a nail thru the head then filet just like you would any other fish skin the same way.

PS we are slipped at A SUMMERPLACE MOORINGS at the end of Bailey Ave.

Mike(supertramp)

Boat name MC2

[Wasabi]

Thanks MC2, will have to give it a whirl if I ever catch another one. Wish I could justify a slip, but my boat qualifies as a dinghy for some boats, it's a 16' whaler. South Haven is definitely in the top 3 for my choice of places to slip with the next boat.