Perch Search

[Mapleshade]

Three of us went out after perch yesterday. Fished south of Rattlesnake, south of Green, east of the monument, north of D Can, and northeast of Niagara. Slow bite and small fish everywhere. I?m used to perch fishing in October and November. Was it the 90 degree heat and lack of breeze? Water temp related? What brings in the larger and more active perch?

[marty]

Three of us went out after perch yesterday. Fished south of Rattlesnake, south of Green, east of the monument, north of D Can, and northeast of Niagara. Slow bite and small fish everywhere. I?m used to perch fishing in October and November. Was it the 90 degree heat and lack of breeze? Water temp related? What brings in the larger and more active perch?

It has been tough on everyone. Most boats have fishfinders. One thing that everyone is finding is poor marks. The lake is still too warm, but most of all there is no bait fish. Having two or three scoops of minnows are not going to bring a school of fish to you. This all started with zebra mussels. The lake needs to get cooler, but by that time most boats are put away.

[West Basin]

Good to limit catches of Yellow Perch in August. Various places, including the Green Island / Rattlesnake Island to the West side of the Camp Perry range. It's not water temp or lack of bait fish or zebra mussels. The perch have moved and / or changed what they are feeding on. The last few years there seems to have been a lull in the perch fishing from late August into the first few weeks of September. Then it picks up again, like it was in the past when few people started fishing for perch until mid September or later. You just have to find them, then figure out how to catch them. Word is there has been some good success in shallow water, close to shore, but I don't have any details.