perch advise?

[rbradley]

I've been talking about trying for perch out of Port sheldon for a long time now, actually giving it a try on saturday. any advise? I have some of the perch rigs with skirted hooks that I've used other places for perch.

do I need minnows or will mousies work?

recent depths?

how big of a sinker do I need?

certain rig that works better than others?

thanks for any info, feel free to PM if you'd rather, I know a lot of guys are pretty tight lipped about the little buggers.

[ekbelt]

They were getting them in Holland this past week in 25-35 feet of water.

Minnows work... l know alot of guys use spikes so I don't see why mousies wouldn't work either.

I would start with a 1 oz sinker, depending on the waves/depth you might go up to a 3oz.

Stop into Gold Coast tackle shop on butternut to get your bait. I'm sure they'll point you in the right direction.

[JWheeler]

Keep moving until you find them, and once you're on them stay on them. I wonder if wigglers would be worth a darn during the summer months? I know they are GOOD during the winter months.

[danthebuilder]

Drop your line to the bottom. Reel in the slack. lift your weight a few inches off the bottom and let it fall. If you can feel bottom. Your weight is big enough. If you can't... You need a bigger weight. I use I believe 3/4 oz weights for the most part. It might be smaller. It definitely isn't bigger.

I use an ultralight rod shimano but the shakespear are also fine. I use a 5'6''. They are cheap & it makes it more enjoyable.

As for fishing line I use very small braid with a 6 foot or so leader of 4 pound test.

I use those gold snell hooks that come in those 6 pack with the 6-8inch leader. Size 8 I believe. Tie one hook a foot up from the sinker and another one 3 feet up from the sinker. No so swivels or any other fancy hardware. Put minnows on that and fish that. I let everyone else in the boat try special perch rigs & other rigs. If they can outfish me. I will admit defeat and switch over. That almost never happens besides an occasional bait change. Probably the cheapest rig on top of that.

I took out someone fishing who had this new "special" bait earlier in the year. He was offended that I wouldn't try what he brought. Finally, I told him... "the only way you're going to sell me is if you outfish me while i'm using minnows". If you go with multiple people. I'd suggest someone always fishing with the rig i described. Its a solid base to judge how well everything else does. Don't let everyone in the boat use the same rig/bait unless its working or you have faith in it.

As for minnows I wouldn't bother going out without purchasing $10 worth of minnows. keep them out of the sun and add water through out the day and throw in a few occasional ice cubes to keep it cold. The day you only buy 3 dozen minnows they will be hot & you will run out.

The true secret to perch fishing and most important part is to keep on MOVING. If you're not catching fish where you're at. Move... Don't get frustrated keep moving. If it takes you a few hours and 15 different locations to find the fish that's fine. When you're done for the day. You should know what depth they were best at. Don't be afraid to cover miles of shore testing different depths and places.

If perch fishing is your thing. Buy a minn kota if you don't own one. Save up during the winter etc. It makes moving so much easier. Allows you to move without half the hassle. You can cover so much more ground so you're going to be more successful.

If you go and find some awesome territory and someone does a driveby. I suggest you let out some slack and look discouraged and don't reel anything in. Shake your head from left to right. If he's close enough to chat. Then chat it up with them make sure to say, "man, sure is slow today. heard it was good a few days ago I wonder where they went" Ask them if they tried 5 miles north of you by some wierd structure on the shore everyone knows. Then say "yah, I think i'm gonna run up there next" Then when you go in with your limit. Brag at the dock and wait for everyone to calls you a liar between themselves. Then you throw all your fish on the cleaning station table and they wonder wtf you did differently. Then inquire if they're using wax worms too when you used minnows all day... Oh wait, ignore that last paragraph.

[Fishrmac]

We have done really well around Holland in 30-35fow the last 2 weekends. 7' bluegill rod, 3/4 oz sinker must barely sitting on bottom with minnows. 37 in our first hour a week ago and 66 in about 90 minutes this past weekend.

[JWheeler]

That's some fast PERCH action! That is the kind of action I am looking to put my 2,4 and 6 year old on, anything short of non stop action and they become bored quickly....

[picman]

Keep moving until you find them, and once you're on them stay on them. I wonder if wigglers would be worth a darn during the summer months? I know they are GOOD during the winter months.

Wigglers always worked well on lakes we fished in the UP in summer. Our problem was getting the things. Tough to get up north in the summer as all the "southern" bait shops would buy up what was available.

[JWheeler]

Wigglers always worked well on lakes we fished in the UP in summer. Our problem was getting the things. Tough to get up north in the summer as all the "southern" bait shops would buy up what was available.

Agreed, and I have not been able to locate any wigglers either this summer. When I was buying minnows Saturday, there was a cooler next to minnow tanks labeled wigglers....low n behold....EMPTY