Need Help Perchin

I am heading back out to Lake Erie June 3rd for a week of fishing. We have done well on the walleyes but on this trip we would also like to try for some perch.
I fish for perch in southern Lake Mich, but not the way you guys fish.
I fish with crappie rigs, drop shot rigs or spinners and most of the time we drift. I have picked up some spreaders on last years trip and tried them in Lake Mich. I can't catch a thing on the spreaders, so I know I am doing something wrong.
Can someone help me out with how to fish with spreaders and the technique you use for these yellow bandits in Lake Erie?
One more thing what size do you keep, back home we have a 15 fish limit so we try to keep 10" or over?
Thanks for your help
Jeff

Jeff,
Spreaders work as do crappie rigs and skipper 9 rigs(need to ask skipper for a picture). Basically anchor your boat and drop the spreader or any rig to the bottom and crank it up until you can tell the lead is off the bottom. The perch hang really tight to the bottom most days and they will suck in the shiners. Make sure you get emerald shiners(most all bait shops carry them along the lake) and if they are big you may have to cut them in 2. The perch will bite fairly light. I use a 7 ft med light pole with 6# mono. You will catch sheepshead white perch and white bass as well. An ultralite set up will work too, just be careful as the sheephead can get pretty big.

Also we sometimes leave the motor running at idle to help keep the perch active, as well as hook one and let him swim around below the boat. It seems to attract other perch. I also know of guys who have perch callers that they rig up to drop to the bottom to stir up the mud as well as make noise.

As far as size goes, my boat rule is anything over 8 inches, but it is a personal preference. We are allowed 30 in ohio. I fished for perch last sunday and did ok with mostly 9 and 10 inchers. I was fishing SW of West Sister island. Typically the further east you go, the better the grade of perch. Kelleys island is a very popular spot and lots of guys on this site will attest to that area. I stay in the extreme west basin so I cannot comment on the fishing down that way.

Good luck, and post your results!
troy

keep spreaders just off the bottom sometimes a slow lift and back down will help especialy when the bite is light. we also use crappie rigs sometimes in the mud sometimes a crank up from the bottom. kind of early for perch we went twice caught 21 1 time and 40 the next 4 guys western end of lake. fish for 20 minutes if you do not get them move got to find them also running your engine sometimes brings them in the perch are curious. good luck use shinners and get a limit. we keep 8 inchers and better

We fish the spring Walleye Jig Bite than switch to Perch the rest of the year in the western basin, good spots are near Buoy 13 in the channel leading to Toledo,behind the water intake, off the Metzger Marsh Pier, B Can near Davis Besse are all good spots, we have been out few times this year and have done well, what we do is plain spreader (no beads or spinners)#4 Eagle Claw hooks ,lay the weight on the bottom for 2 seconds and raise it up VERY SLOWLY and I mean as slow as you possibly can until you are about 1 foot off the bottom drop it back down and repeat they normally will hit when the hooks are lifting off the bottom ,I have been fishing the lake 50 years and this is the way we do the best .we always use lake Erie shiners for bait if they are large cut them in half

The limit is 30 per person per day and we keep 7 1/2 " and up that is what Butch and Denny's will scale and filet.

If you want bigger fish Go to Vermillion and put your boat in at the route 6 bridge over the Vermillion River near the rail road bridge, go to the East of the break wall out 1 mile we do this several times per year and do very well.

All of this you must be anchored best off the stern so the boat does not swing .

I hope this helps !
Good luck!

everything above is true, we do things a little different on our boat and anyone who has perch fish with us knows we bring home coolers full. First if spreaders use a very light wieght
no beads,with 3/4 to 1 ounce sinker with a foot of slack line must be on bottom with no tension big one will drop it if they feel
anything , count to five or ten and with your wrist gentle raise
if you feel wieght set the hook easy, second if perch are very finky use lighter sinker even as low as split shots, skipper nine rigs are always on our boat, as is lindy rig with one chartuse bead. one trick is to sead your area with white rice, and we always keep our motor running all day long, it keeps them active,
hope this helps. Capt. Mike and WAYNE REEL SPORT CHARTERS 419 265 2736

I would like to thank all of you that have shared your knowledge with me.
But I have 2 questions, what is the skipper 9 rig and Wayne I don't understand the foot of slack line?
(if spreaders use a very light wieght
no beads,with 3/4 to 1 ounce sinker with a foot of slack line must be on bottom with no tension big one will drop it if they feel
anything)
Thanks again to all and I will post a report either way?
I have been fishin for 50 years and I'm still learnin.
Jeff

learn this long time ago big perch are on the bottom, and if they feel any resistance they will drop the bait, when boat going up and down in the waves, if your off the bottom you are mostly out of the fish zone, this way with slack line you stay in
fish zone longer and have better chance for larger perch, it takes a while to learn but will increase your catches big time, skipper nine rig is kind of a crappie rig without wire two inch
arms with mono, tiny true turn hooks, and a couple small beads,
its also some thing thats a must on the boat, just ask capt. jim to print a picture. Wayne AND mIKE REEL SPORT CHARTERS
419 265 2736

Here you go. These are the pics Jim posted. Like Wayne said, the key is to fish on a slack line. Personally I use braid with a swivel tied on the end. I snap the swivel to the loop on the perch rig. Drop the rig to the bottom...when you feel the weight hit the bottom let out slack, close the bail and reel in enough line that your rod is parallel to slightly under parallel to the water...depending on waves. Now you can let a little slack in the line and usually if the perch are there, as soon as you let the slack in the line you'll have a perch on. It's easy...you'll catch on quickly, but it probably defies how you were taught to fish...on a tight line. Good luck!

Greg

...if you send Skipper 9 a pm, he'll probably send you a rig to check out.

Thanks again to all. I am leaving fo WW in the am and will try out this new way to perch fish. I will be up for a week so if you are out there give me a shout on 71.
Slack Lines
Jeff

what kind of hook do you use and what size hook and sinker.i want to tie my own skipper 9 rigs

just tie a swivel on the end so you can change weight according to what you need. As far as hook size its a matter of personal preference I like 4 or 2 personally just because the smalller fish have a harder time getting it in their mouths...but to each his own, color is either red or gold don't waste time on brown hooks. Good luck!

Red #2 truturns is what I use I believe