Perch

[5285]

8/9/19
Left Green Cove at 1pm, headed to D can to see if the third hand report I got was accurate. Fished 2 hours and kept (18) 8 to 10" perch. Released (14) 4 to 6" perch. The good news is caught (0) sheephead, made a 500 foot circle before I anchored and marked lots of perch spread out. No heavy concentrations but lots of scattered fish. Bites were really light, I could only use 1 rod, when I tried 2 I was missing fish on both on both rods. Used 3 hook crappy rig with 3/4oz weight, and lip hooked goldies. Miserable 45 minute ride back at 12 miles an hour. Looks like the wind is laying down tomorrow, should be a better ride in the morning.

[PatSea]

Thanks for the detailed report

[Lucky Duck]

I put my boat away. I can get it out, but that long hours of fishing and moving drives me crazy. I have lots of other things I could be doing around the house. But then again, it sounds like I should still be chasing those walleye!

[5285]

Thank you they have been nice size. I have been buying extra bait and sorting the bigger goldies (give the small ones to my neighbors) I have noticed catching bigger perch 11+ inches and not near as many smaller ones.I don't like to sort perch, seems like unless they are very lightly lip hooked the gulls end up with a lot of them. Using minnows big enough that most guys cut them in half seems to reduce the number of smaller perch caught.

[5285]

9\7-8-9 Got up to the lake Thursday evening to change the starter on the boat, and figure out why the engine temperature was running a little warm. Didn't go well, ended up taking 14 hours and close to a thousand in parts to get everything back together finaly by Friday evening. The joys of running a 34 year old boat. The 8 foot waves Saturday and Sunday made watching football on TV a much better option than fishing. Anyway should be good to go next weekend.

[5285]

10/12-13-14 Put some miles on the boat this weekend. Found lots of fish but getting them to bite took some work. Got up here Wednesday night but it was a little to rough Thursday for me (It used to take 4 to 5 footers to keep me off the water, now 3 to 4 keeps me in). Friday a buddy and me headed to Crib Reef but the water was to muddy. Went to B can and couldn't find any good schools, marks were very scattered. Went to A can found the same thing. On the way back to the dock at 4 pm we noticed the water around L Can had cleared up. Deployed the Ulterra hit the spot lock over a school and caught 50 perch by 5:30 pm. They Weighed 23 lbs at Shattos. Saturday 3 of us went out to the same spot east of L can fished 3 hrs and caught 28. Came in early to visit with some family who made the trip up from Newark. 2 of us went back to the same spot at 4pm and finished our limit by 5:30. Sunday went to the Picket Fence by myself moved 4 times couldn't get a bite, moved north of Crib Reef to 21 fow caught a limit in 3 hours nice fish 13 lbs at Shattos. Had to slowly raise the rigs off the bottom 6 to 12 inches to get them to bite Sunday. All 3 days used 3 hook crappie rigs and 5/8 chrome swedish pimple with a 4 inch drop hook. Shiners from Bite Me Bait.

[5285]

Getting better
8/10-11-12
Started Sat at D can, 2 of us pulled 8 keepers but it took over an hour. Moved over to A can, kept 6 in an hour and a half. Went to B can caught 38 in the next 2 hours, and ran out of bait. The fish we kept were 8 to 10 inches, but we thru back at least as many as we kept that were 4 to 7 inches. Used goldies on spreaders and crappy rigs. Fished by myself Sunday and Monday at B can, about 5 hours each day to catch a limit, of keepers, while throwing back an equal number of shorts, and a bunch of 4 inch walleye.
8/16-17-18-19
2 of us went out Friday and Saturday to B can. fished 5 hours both days, caught 47 Fri and 60 Sat. Again lots of shorts and 4 inch walleyes. Keepers went 8 to 11 inches. Used goldies and crappy rigs.
Sunday and Monday went to B can by myself. Limited both days again about 5 hours with lots of throw backs, on goldies and crappy rigs. I move the boat every hour or so, and try to find some good marks, the fish seem to be scattered and moving a lot more than they have been in past years. All that moving probably wouldn't be worth it if I had to deploy and retrieve an anchor every time. The Ulterra trolling motor and "spot lock" makes relocating quick and easy.

[5285]

10\5-6
Spent the last two weekends casting for walleye at Big Pickerel with mixed success because the perch fishing was so slow, but this weekend that turned around.

Two of us went out Saturday evening on a rough ride to D can to see if we could locate some perch since I had a group coming up to fish Sunday. We finally located some decent marks around 5 pm and dropped the anchor (waves were too big to run the spot lock on the trolling motor). I was going to be happy if we could catch a few fish and get a place to start on Sunday. 1 hr and 40 minutes later we were pulling the anchor with 2 limits of perch in the cooler. We threw quite a few 5 and 6 inch perch back, 60 perch weighed 17 lbs at Shatto's Fish cleaning. Most were 7 to 8 inch with some 9s and 10s and one 11 inch.

Sunday morning 5 of us went to the same spot in my 30' (much nicer ride). Fished for a half hour with no bites, made a quarter mile move to some decent marks and tried again. 3 and a half hours and we had our 150 perch. Same size as Saturday but a little slower bite, everyone was happy and it made for a nice day on the water.

Fish were all caught on 3 hook crappie rigs on the bottom and very large emerald shiners from A and J bait. We cut the shiners in 3 and 4 pieces. It will be nice if bigger fish move in as the water cools, but if the bite stays good I will gladly take what the lake gives us. Hopefully this is the end of a long dry spell for catching perch.

[5285]

8/10- 2 miles south of A Can. Started at 9am over good marks, the bite was fast and steady, 2 of us had 42 in the box by 10:30 then they shut down. Spent the next 3 hours catching 4 & 5" perch, sheephead, a 24 inch walleye, and finally our last 18 perch. 23 lbs at Shattos, goldies from Bite Me Bait, and 3 hook crappie rigs.

[daleho10]

8/10- 2 miles south of A Can. Started at 9am over good marks, the bite was fast and steady, 2 of us had 42 in the box by 10:30 then they shut down. Spent the next 3 hours catching 4 & 5" perch, sheephead, a 24 inch walleye, and finally our last 18 perch. 23 lbs at Shattos, goldies from Bite Me Bait, and 3 hook crappie rigs.

Same thing happened to us about 3/4 mile southwest of A. From 9-11 on fire then shut down and only caught a few until quitting around 12:30. Maybe the strong east wind.