Walleye and Perch Help, please

[shuclan]

Thanks M.A.D. Eyes! This gives me a lot of options for several days of fishing, so I really appreciate your help. As I told Captain Tacky, my biggest concern now is finding the right minnows for the perch and a bait shop to buy them. I've seen some posts that have recommended a few places, but if you can tell me if there are good bait shops around the Catawba State Park or Mazuriks area, that would be very much appreciated. Thanks again for all of your help.
Phil

[captain tacky]

I will be attending my family reunion near Ft. Wayne, Indiana on 7 Aug., and I plan on fishing the western basin on 8 and 9 Aug., and would greatly appreciate any help I can get with respect to general areas to fish for Walleyes and Perch. I joined the Air Force in 1980, and between my Air Force time and civilian time working for the Defense Intelligence Agency, I was able to retire in 2007, although I have continued working for Defense contractors since then, and I've spent a lot of time in some not so fun places over the last few years, so I am finally getting a chance to attend my family reunion, after missing it the last 5 years. WaliDave had helped me in the past, and I have sent him several messages, but he has not responded, and I have not seen any blogs from him, so I hope everything is OK, as he was very helpful to me in the past. I am bringing my son and boat along and would like to fish on the Western basin for walleye and perch. I would appreciate any info on general areas to fish for casting and areas for trolling. Also, general areas to find perch. I've been watching recent posts, and have a few ideas on where to look for both walleyes and perch, but would appreciate info on best lures for casting and trolling. A spreader with minnows seems to be the choice for perch, so I will probably pick some up at a bait shop. I would also appreciate thoughts on best boat ramp(s) to use for western basin. I used to fish the western basin as a teenager in the late 1970's, but things have changed a lot since then. Sorry for the long post, and appreciate any help I can get.
Phil

Arround B Can is excellent for both, I dock at Magee east marina , Great place to launch and great people, you can google for location!

[shuclan]

Thanks Captain Tacky! I really appreciate the help. Do most perch fishermen use smaller minnows for bait, like the size you would use for crappies, or do they use larger minnows like the those that are used for springtime walleye jigging? I've noticed conversations on-line about the different types of minnows that are found in the baitshops around Erie, and I want to make sure we don't buy the wrong kind. Thanks again for your help, I really do appreciate it very much.
Phil

[captain tacky]

Thanks Captain Tacky! I really appreciate the help. Do most perch fishermen use smaller minnows for bait, like the size you would use for crappies, or do they use larger minnows like the those that are used for springtime walleye jigging? I've noticed conversations on-line about the different types of minnows that are found in the baitshops around Erie, and I want to make sure we don't buy the wrong kind. Thanks again for your help, I really do appreciate it very much.
Phil

Shiners are the best, call around or ask who has them when you are here.

If not available drive to Summit Street just over the line in Michigan to fishermans cove he gets them from a different source from Lake St. Clair almost always has them, if you dont have shiners honestly it is a waste to even go out although some will tell you they catch well on Goldies and other type bait I have been fishing lake Erie 50 YEARS and assure you there is a difference.

I always freeze my left over shiners put them through a strainer and put in baggies with salt. they work well.

[shuclan]

Captain Tacky,
I have printed off a document with all of the bait shops and addresses listed, along with phone numbers, so I will start calling around to see about finding some shiners. Thanks again for your help. You've been gracious and very helpful, and I really do appreciate that.
Phil

[wakina]

You have to be realistic in your approach to shiners! If there is a full moon then you may not get lake (Emerald)shiners period! They are not easily caught when the moon is full. I have had excellent luck with both fatheads and golden shiners when Emerald are in short supply.

Ask yourself this question, Do I want to run around from bait store to bait store looking for Emeralds when there is a full moon? Even if you called ahead and found out they had some those emeralds may already be gone by the time you get there. Been there done that. So is it goldens, fatheads or mix of lake shiners and goldens or fatheads or off to another bait store that said they had some emeralds when you made your call. Myself I would rather be fishing and not wasting time driving from bait shop to bait shop hoping for emeralds. I have been at this since 1955 and can tell you that in order to catch perch you have to be actively fishing and not chasing down lake shiners in your car for an hour or so.

Just last weekend I stopped at my favorite local bait store and they had no shiners so I bought 2 scoops of golden shiners and a 1 scoop of fatheads. I ended up with 27 nice perch that weighed 12 pounds at the cleaners. At the end it was to hot for me and the bite had died to non existent so I called it a day, had I ran around chasing emeralds I would have not caught the 27 that I did but would have still been hot and had a non existent perch bite when I decided to call it and come in.

I don't think there is an experienced fisherman who frequents this forum who does not believe that the Lake Erie shiner(Emeralds) are the best perch bait for Erie because they are. They would also tell you that during certain periods they are hard to come by for one reason or another. You have to flexible and adapt when things are not as expected.

A little secret to using fatheads is to smash their heads to release some scent and the goldens I smash their stomach until you can see some juice flowing out.

90% of the perch that I catch are what we say in the mud. I use 2 rods whenever possible. Lines to the bottom with an inch or 2 of slack and then either lift every 10 seconds or so or dead stick and watch your rod tip. I catch at least half my perch on a dead stick with a slight amount of slack in the line. I just want the rod to show some weight as the boat rocks and not lift that sinker off the bottom. The next thing is the use of braided line of some kind as it will allow you to feel every little thing that is happening down below and will show you on the dead stick what is happening there.

[shuclan]

Wakina,
I agree with you, I won't waste what could be hours trying to find emerald shiners, especially if they are not available. I did some google searches on emerald shiners and Lake Erie, and I saw the articles about shortages of emerald shiners in years past, so it sounds like the same thing is happening again this year. I will call a bunch of the bait shops that others have mentioned and see if they have emerald shiners. I use nanofil on my spinning rods and baitcasting rods, so I am all set there. I have a fluorocarbon leader on each rod, so the perch should not be able to see my line. Thanks again for the great advice, especially on the emerald shiners. I am driving over 600 miles from Omaha, NE to attend my family reunion and go fishing, so I don't want to be chasing emerald shiners all over the place and waste time that I could be out on the water.
Phil

[captain tacky]

Veteran.. I would be honored to take you and son out on me looks like at this point I can go Monday Aug 8. , I have a 25 ' Grady White walk around . P.M. me if interested.

[shuclan]

Captain Tacky,
Thanks for the kind words and offer. I may just take you up on that offer. I am bringing my boat, which is a nearly 20 ft. long Nitro 290 Sport w/200 Verado, and it's a good boat in wind/waves, but I'd much rather be in your Grady White if it's breezy or high waves. Grady White's are awesome boats for sure. I will PM you for details.
Phil

[M.A.D. Eyes]

If you plan on using Mazuriks access there is a baits hope on the way on Rte 163 called HI way bait. They have minnows and crawlers. If you plan on using catawba state Park which you can access by St Rte 53, at the intersection of 53 and 163 there is a bait shop called Rickards. Both have websites with contact info. Hope you have a fun,safe,and productive trip Phil.