Perch fishing truth

[badboards]

My question is this. I fished in and around the pack of 500 boats Wednesday west of Catawba toward the cans and south passage on Thursday. Dropped off my nine perch at Marblehead fish cleaning. All those boats fishing for perch and nobody was cleaning fish at 4:00. They said I got lucky catching what I did. I moved 6 times and fished 6 hours using crappie rigs and a mix of Goldie's and emeralds. I'm no expert and I know some of you know this lake pretty good. But really what is going on. How do you guys catch a limit in a few hours when me and 500 other boats can't catch 10 fish. Leaves me baffled.

[SWOHRIDER]

I won't say I'm an expert either but I love to perch fish and do it as often as I can living 3 hours away. First thing, a giant pack of boats doesn't always mean they are catching them. You will rarely see me in the middle of a giant pack unless I'm already on fish and they move in around me. I try to stay off the edges of the pack or go my own way. Second, and I think is most important, is I don't stop and fish unless I mark what I think is a good number of fish and then I try to stop right on the school. Having a trolling motor with spot lock is a huge help with that. I can also make small moves easier. Sometimes 50ft can make a huge difference in my success. And last, if I'm not catching anything, I don't sit around and hope they show up to eat. I go looking for something better. I don't always find it tho. And don't get discouraged. It's a big lake and someone is always catching them somewhere. And someone is always struggling... I've been on both sides plenty of times. Good luck.

[captainshotgun]

Were you running your engine? Did you have emeralds? Did you use Sabiki rigs? I am not very good at catching perch, yet have caught several limits this year & have caught over 10 10 times. Ditto on what swhorider says. You must be on an ACTIVE school

[waterdog]

Yoda says you must complete your training my Young Perch Jedi.
Been fishing a long time and spent a full year on head boats to see if I would like to fish on the lake before I purchased my own boat and enjoy fishing to the extent that I do.
So, on that note just because you did not catch your limit is in no indication that others have "truth" issues in reporting.
I have seen percher's move to my spot after I leave to get on the perch, and it happed today.
It is called fishing for that reason, it is not catching and many times I have been out and been "skunked".
So my advice to you is to ask for help and you will get it on this web site.
Become a student of "fish talk" and visit this site to get as much advice as you can.
However, there is no "get my limit in 2 hours" guarantee.
I have caught my limit in 2 hours or as long as 5, it is fishing and not just catching.
Hope you find this information helpful and you will continue in your education of the "fish force".
~Water Dog

[itsbob]

Do not let the dark side of the force influence your perch catching young Jeti.

[waterdog]

Do not let the dark side of the force influence your perch catching young Jeti.

Yes, do not give in to the hate, but to the LOVE OF FISHING, and you will be changed forever~!
~Fish On , tight lines and watch that light bite ~~!!!
~The Dog

[West Basin]

There are always alterations to the general fishing technique. Perch fishing isn't always the same bite. Now and then the perch are more aggressive and hit the bait harder and faster, so having that slack line or little minnow movement isn't as important. The general idea is to get the minnow in front of them and give them a chance to eat it. Whatever you can come up with to get more line sensitivity to the bait, improve the ability to feel a bite, is probably gong to be a good thing. No matter what you do, you still need to learn the basic technique and then improve on it. There are also other factors, such as boat swing, the kind of pole you use, the kind and test of the line, etc. All those are part of learning the technique with your boat and your equipment. And we all know there will be days when you do everything right but the perch just won't cooperate. Lake Erie Yellow Perch fishing is some of the "easiest" and fun fishing you can do, once you learn how. You don't need a big boat, or go out far, or need a lot of equipment. Heck, you don't even need a landing net! Take the time to learn the general technique and continue to improve it and it will pay off in a lot more fish caught.

[dunn782]

I fished alone in and around that pack on Wednesday. I started near the green bouy. Moved around a little with the electric and once with the main motor, toward the WNW. Never was more than 1-1/2 miles from the state ramp. Started just after 8 left with 30 just after noon. Emerald Goldie mix. I clean my own fish. I think a fair number of people do and there are a lot of places that clean fish in the area. I was guessing the pack at 75, maybe 100. I could be way off but that was the number in my head when I was out there. I've had plenty of crappy days when it seamed all the reports were great. Hard to gripe, could be last year.

[TonyC10]

I have come up a couple times this year. I'm not expert by any means and I ask a ton of questions on here. People probably get sick of answering them but they always do and it's always great advice. It's a little over 3 hours for me to get up there towing my boat. Came up about 2 months ago and followed water dogs posts for 2 weeks before I went up. Went out of catawba right around g can. We ended up with 40 that day. Two of us. There was another boat anchored about 50 yards from me and we were both out of the pack. The two guys on that boat were bringing them in left and right. Doubles. We were 50 or so yards away and were struggling to get bites. But I also think we missed a ton of fish because that bite was so light. Once you get the feel for it it's a little easier. Second time I went out by the intake. Stayed outside the huge pack of boats and moved around a couple times. Guy i ran into getting bait in the morning was just north of the intake maybe 1/4 of a mile from us. Him and his buddy got their 60 to our 14. We ran into them at the cleaners. Hoping to come back up in 2 weeks. Its frustrating at times but I love fishing. I'm going to bring my 5 year old and his grandpa and my wife this time. I think they will all enjoy it and hopefully I can get into them. Leaving the boat running is like ringing a dinner bell. If the bite slows I will start it and let it go for a while. Always seems to pick up when I do. Good luck. Keep the reports coming.

[badboards]

Damn, I thought somebody would say it was the spinny water flea. The insects were bad around the camp, thought maybe that had something to do with it. Guess there is always next week. By the way a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work. But then again I don't have that problem anymore. All I do is fish. Thanks for all the comments.