Perch fishing rods

Been fishing lake erie for perch for over 60 years and havent given to much thought about rod choice until recent years. The fish seemed to bite more aggresively in my younger days so most any rod worked well. Then as the bite became more delicate, I started using specific rods to enhance the feel of the lite bite. A few years back I switched to a light action 6' rod which seeme to be very sensative to the delicate bite. Recently I found I was missing alot of these light taps and thought I might try a shorter rod with a more sensative tip. Moved to a 5' extra lite/ ultralite rod and found I was feeling many more of the exceptionally light taps these perch are using. My catch ratio has increased greatly since making this switch. What are the rest of you avid perch fishing folks using ??? Just wanted to throw this out there in hopes of helping a fellow fisherman !!

Good info on the 5' rod, what brand rod is it and what size weight do you use with the ultra light rod. Thank you, God Bless! Phil Porter

That is a good thought because I was thinking about getting a Berkley lightning rod 5' or 5'6" It will be nice to hear some other opinions on this

One rod is a Quantum combo I bought a number of years back for fishing in the ponds around my area. Always had a nice feel in my hand and a very sensative tip. Has brought in many 2-3 lb bass as well as fighting bluegill. The other is an older Berkley ex- lite 5' spinning rod, I picked up at a garage sale, again for pond fishing, especially bluegill. When I realized how many nibbles I wasnt detecting, I decided to try something else. Definetly easier to feel those lite nibbles and both are comfortable in the hand which makes a big difference !! The shorter 5' length is actually much easier in the boat to handle as I only have a 16' boat. My other 6' perch rods are the Cabela's classic rods wgich have a grest feel to them, all are rated as " lite" models, and have worked very well. Last season and this year, I began to notice how many times my bait was stolen and never felt the bite. Had to try something else and so far these ultra lite 5' have made a big difference....

Just using typical crappie rigs, and a couole home made crappie rigs and even a spreader. I did move up to a heavier sinker to get the hooks down more quickly and keep them on bottom in the chop. So far the crappie rigs have done best.

I have found the best rod for me is a 5'4" GLoomis GL2 in a medium action. They don't even make the model anymore. I bought it for bass fishing in the back of a canoe so I wouldn't keep smacking the front angler in my canoe on hook set. Some might say overkill but I can feel bottom hardness, and the lightest of bites. I rarely, almost never get cleaned off without feeling something. Fish only crappie rigs with direct tied hooks. I tried switch over to an older st croix premier in 6' medium and couldn't feel nearly as good. My preference is 5' to 5'6" in medium to medium light. We hit em pretty good by Marblehead Light and Lakeside in the beginning of the week. We had 3 fisherman, 2 adults and my 9 year old son. 3 days of fishing we had 210 perch at a total of 61#.

I understand why so many different types of fishing rods are made, each person has there own feel they are looking for. I have tried medium action rods but dont find that feel I am looking for but many do !! There is no right or wrong rod, just what feels good to a certain individual. My old age may very well contribute to the sensativity in my hands and arms, cant say for sure. Right now the extra lite action shorter 5' appear to work the best for me....who knows, next year could be another story, guess that's why they call it fishing and not catching !!!!!

Years ago (50 or so) I always used a St. Croix ML and thought that was the nuts. Well, times have changed and now I realized I could have missed 100's of perch thru the years. I have changed my perch rods and only use a Micro-lite 7-8' from BassPro and a Sam Heaton Super Sensitive rod 7' from B' n M rod company. Using those 2 rods made a world of different, I can feel the fish swim by. Look them up, not that overly expensive and will make perch fishing great. Good luck....