Bula Walleye & Fairport Perch

[Wolverine81]

Fished with a friend the last 2 Saturdays out of Ashtabula for walleyes until around 1 PM then went out of Fairport for perch limits in the evenings. Fished perch the previous 2 Friday evenings & the last 3 Saturdays. Was able to get 90-120 fish perch limits all days except the first Friday which was my first perch trip of the year, only had 22 fish that evening as I was fishing about a mile East of where the fish were. As is typical with August perch on the Hump, there are many smaller fish. The big ones will be there in about a month. Got a limit of 12 walleyes yesterday using crawler harnesses off of Dipsies & the little boards & 9 fish the previous Sat on crawler harnesses & little boards. The fish were out 20 miles on the 20th & 14 miles yesterday. They are starting to come back in. Many of the fish were very pale and near the bottom in 70-72 FOW.
The perch bite out of Fairport is very good & will only get better off of the Hump until mid-Sept. I have been fishing 39-52 FOW on the drop edge of the Hump. Bigger fish seem to be on the deeper side & move up the drop edge as it gets later in the evening. A secondary pack is gettting fish in shallower water off of the lagoons. It is in the general area where the walleyes are in late June/early July in front of the lagoons.

[whitecapper]

where is the hump? would like to take my mother out for perch this weekend. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Wolverine81]

Whitecapper,
Hope this helps & I hope you & your mom have a good day. Sat morn is looking like the better day as a blow is forecasted for Sunday but of course, that can change. Fish-wise, Labor Day is usually a good weekend to fish. The following weekend, Perchfest is also a good weekend. I have been using perch spreaders with the minnows fished right on the bottom. I do not like the ones with the spinner blades as I feel the blades hinder the hook set due to water resistance.
The Hump is about 2-3 miles Northwest of the Grand River mouth. There is usually a pack of boats out there this time of year so look for the boats. As you head to the hump, water depth will drop to 42-43 feet then start to rise to about 37 feet. It will rapidly drop to 54-55 feet once you find the the back edge. I like to fish the edge. If you choose to fish the pack, look for boats getting fish and anchor near them. I prefer to fish the edges of the pack, using my fishfinder to locate schools near the bottom. If the lake isn't too rough I almost always put down a few lines before anchoring. If the spot is good, you should have a bite/fish in about 2 miinutes. Once you get a few fish, anchor. Sometimes it may take 15-20 minutes before the bite becomes up & down but once a school of fish gets pulled to the boat, they generally stay if the lines stay in the water. When you let the line down & the fish are going, the fish should be on the minnow almost immediately and many times you will see fish following the hooked fish up to the surface.
I have been fishing the western end of the pack but of course that can change. My GPS numbers are North 47.9, West 20.3. Last year I fished North 47.9 West 19.7 all season & did well.
My experience has been that perch generally shut down around 11 AM & start biting again around 3:30 on calmer days but will keep going alll day in rougher water. I prefer evening to fish but getting minnws can be tough this time of year. Minnows will be in short supply when the lake is rough and the bait boats cannot get out or around the full moon. Bait boats use a light on the water at night to draw the minnows and the light is ineffective on clear nights with a full moon. There seems to be a great minnow hatch this year so hopefully we will not have that problem. It also bodes well for perch/walleye since when one species has a good hatch, all seem to. If you fish evening you may want to try to get minnows earlier in the day or at least call to check the bait stock. I like Steve's Bait at the mouth of the river. Good Luck.