Perch

[shouldabeen]

Tuesday two of us went off of ramp to the green can got our 60 fish with a lot of sorting. Went 14# at the cleaners. Saturday went out of Huron off the Castle 35 fow. Three of us we only got 36 fish. They went 19# at the cleaners. They were really big fish. Going today to try again.

[5285]

7/24-25-26
After the way the perch bite went last July I expected Thursday to be a one and out. Really glad I was wrong. Friday 3 of us got started at 9am at the same spot as Thursday. A mile south of B can right on the north side of the pack of boats drifting and trolling over Big Pickerel for walleye. It took a little longer but we had our 90 in just over 3 hours, 28 lbs at Shatto's. I attribute the slower bite to the 50\50 mix of shiners and goldies that was available at A and Js. I got to do some experimenting rotating 2 goldies and 1 shiner up and down the 3 hook crappie rig. 90% of the bites came on the shiners. I hear the arguments that one is just as good as the other, but I ain't buying it. That's not to say you can't catch limits of perch on goldies (keep reading) I am just saying for my 5 dollars a scoop I'll take shiners any time their available. Saturday 4 of us went to the same spot and it took 5 hours to catch a limit, 38 lbs at Shatto's, on 100% goldies. Again the marks looked exactly the same as the 2 days before. Since there was hardly any wind I did cut the spot lock on the trolling motor and drift a little when the action stopped 5 or 6 times. They were short drifts, at the end of the day we were only a hundred yards from the starting point. Today I was by myself. Same spot, goldies from A and Js, 3 hour limit. The fish were bigger 12 lbs at Shatto's. Several observations; I had 4 days of great fishing within a 100 yards of the way point I started on. I found that spot on my way to B can on Thursday because a spark plug wire fell off and when i started up after putting it back on the screen was lit up with perch on the bottom, so I tried there and found a nice school. I am talking to guys fishing the Toledo Light House, Ward's, the intake, B, D and G Can, and the perch are hitting well at all of them. Fingers crossed they don't all disappear again.

[5285]

8/3
Saturday 7 of us went out to the same spot south of B can, and dropped the anchor at 7 am over the same good marks that I have been seeing for the last 10 days. Bite was steady and we pulled the anchor at 10 am with 210 perch in the box. Threw back some 6" to 7" fish and had the occasional white perch and sheep head. Most perch were up off the bottom 1 and a half to 2 and a half feet, very few caught on the bottom hook. The guys were missing a lot of bites so I cut the bait in half, that improved the catch rate dramatically with no noticeable affect on the time between hits. Used 3 hook crappy rigs with 50/50 mix of shiners and goldies from A and Js. There was a noticeable lack of 11" and 12" perch that we had been catching before. The guys took the fish to have them cleaned so I did not know the weight. I would guess it at 9 lbs per 30 perch.

[5285]

8/24
Out again by myself this afternoon. Thought I would try a spot around L can where I saw quite a few boats yesterday. Idling around I found some marks and set up. Just as I got the second rod on the bottom, the first one went down. As soon as I set the hook I knew it was a sheephead. As I was bringing it up the second rod bent hard over the side of the boat, I heard a snap and watched the rod tip and last 3 inches of my favorite rod slide down the line and into the water. Obviously I was angry, but as I released the first fish I remembered a book about the native fish of Lake Erie that I had read 40 years ago. The author described how amazing it was that a few species had survived the commercial over harvesting, poisons, and pollution the lake has suffered over the last hundred years, and that the Fresh Water Drum was one of them. That memory had a calming effect on me, and I was actually smiling as I released the 24" offender. I did promptly leave the area, and moved to where I hoped the fish would be a little more considerate of my St Croix ultra lite rods.
Ended up back at the same spot north of A can that I have been fishing for a week now, and the perch were still there. 2 and a half hours to catch a limit. Very subtle nibbles, almost imperceptible on the rod tip, and most fish caught on the top hook. Still using the nice small goldies bought from A and Js, on 3 hook crappy rigs. Fish weighed 10 lbs at Shatto's

[dunn782]

8/24
Out again by myself this afternoon. Thought I would try a spot around L can where I saw quite a few boats yesterday. Idling around I found some marks and set up. Just as I got the second rod on the bottom, the first one went down. As soon as I set the hook I knew it was a sheephead. As I was bringing it up the second rod bent hard over the side of the boat, I heard a snap and watched the rod tip and last 3 inches of my favorite rod slide down the line and into the water. Obviously I was angry, but as I released the first fish I remembered a book about the native fish of Lake Erie that I had read 40 years ago. The author described how amazing it was that a few species had survived the commercial over harvesting, poisons, and pollution the lake has suffered over the last hundred years, and that the Fresh Water Drum was one of them. That memory had a calming effect on me, and I was actually smiling as I released the 24" offender. I did promptly leave the area, and moved to where I hoped the fish would be a little more considerate of my St Croix ultra lite rods.
Ended up back at the same spot north of A can that I have been fishing for a week now, and the perch were still there. 2 and a half hours to catch a limit. Very subtle nibbles, almost imperceptible on the rod tip, and most fish caught on the top hook. Still using the nice small goldies bought from A and Js, on 3 hook crappy rigs. Fish weighed 10 lbs at Shatto's

What kind of depth are you working north of A, if you don't mind sharing.

[Fishing Addiction]

That does sound heavy unless they were all 13 to 14 inchers. Usually 30 8 to 10 inch perch weigh 8 to 9 lbs.

[Lucky Duck]

8/24
Out again by myself this afternoon. Thought I would try a spot around L can where I saw quite a few boats yesterday. Idling around I found some marks and set up. Just as I got the second rod on the bottom, the first one went down. As soon as I set the hook I knew it was a sheephead. As I was bringing it up the second rod bent hard over the side of the boat, I heard a snap and watched the rod tip and last 3 inches of my favorite rod slide down the line and into the water. Obviously I was angry, but as I released the first fish I remembered a book about the native fish of Lake Erie that I had read 40 years ago. The author described how amazing it was that a few species had survived the commercial over harvesting, poisons, and pollution the lake has suffered over the last hundred years, and that the Fresh Water Drum was one of them. That memory had a calming effect on me, and I was actually smiling as I released the 24" offender. I did promptly leave the area, and moved to where I hoped the fish would be a little more considerate of my St Croix ultra lite rods.
Ended up back at the same spot north of A can that I have been fishing for a week now, and the perch were still there. 2 and a half hours to catch a limit. Very subtle nibbles, almost imperceptible on the rod tip, and most fish caught on the top hook. Still using the nice small goldies bought from A and Js, on 3 hook crappy rigs. Fish weighed 10 lbs at Shatto's

I really thought those high priced rods like St Croix did not break very easily. Is that common that a big fish will snap a high quality rod?

[5285]

Your right a quality rod like a St Croix should give a lifetime of service if handled properly. However; if your lazy like me, and don,t put them in a proper rod holder, rather lay them over the gunwale (see photo) then they can break when a large fish slams your bait. It was definitely my fault not the rod or the sheephead.

[dunn782]

Thanks for the new report. Nice to let the neighbor have the fish too. I've seen a couple guys set a pole like that too, bad practice. I've seen a couple go over the side.

[5285]

9/19-20
After the wind laid down Saturday afternoon 4 of us went to the spot south of A can where I had been catching for the last couple weeks, water was muddy from the blow on Friday so we moved on. Tried Big pickerel, A can, B can, and D can. Made several moves at each spot, but after 4 hours we only had 19 perch. Decided to head north and scout around. Found some nice marks half way between Niagara Reef and C can in 30 fow, Caught 60 nice 8 to 11 inch perch in the hour before sunset. Using crappy rigs with shiners and goldies from A and Js.
The couple that went out with me Saturday wanted to fish again Sunday morning. I was busy so I let them take the boat back to the same spot. They had their limit in a couple hours. nice size fish again.