Any Perch around the Cans??

[LEfriend]

What size are the shinners you guys get, I am coming from Il this weekend and can bring some with me. We have flatheads, baby roachs and crappie minnows we use all of them in Lake Mich. I am thinking they are more like a crappie minnow. Thanks and we will be on the water Sat afternoon, I ran a Black 2150 Lund Baron I'll be on 72 also.
FL

You can get a good debate started on here about minnows for perch. The conventional thinking is that nothing beats Lake Shinners and that inland minnows like fatheads don't work very well. Sometimes the bait shops get golden shinners when the Lake Shiners aren't available...some fishermen swear by goldens and some at them. If I couldn't get live shinners, I would take frozen emeralds next over anything else, then goldens third. Spotfin shinners are real good, but hard to find.

As for size, I want a 1 1/2 inch thick minnow to hold the hook easily. For bigger minnows lots of times we cut them in two...sometimes all you need is a quarter inch chunk on the hook. Avoid pinheads...they are too skinny to keep on the hook and you get robbed blind.

Good luck

[wakina]

You can get a good debate started on here about minnows for perch. The conventional thinking is that nothing beats Lake Shinners and that inland minnows like fatheads don't work very well. Sometimes the bait shops get golden shinners when the Lake Shiners aren't available...some fishermen swear by goldens and some at them. If I couldn't get live shinners, I would take frozen emeralds next over anything else, then goldens third. Spotfin shinners are real good, but hard to find.

As for size, I want a 1 1/2 inch thick minnow to hold the hook easily. For bigger minnows lots of times we cut them in two...sometimes all you need is a quarter inch chunk on the hook. Avoid pinheads...they are too skinny to keep on the hook and you get robbed blind.

Good luck

I agree, 1 1/2 to 2 inches is the best size! When pinheads are all that are available I switch to a number 8 hook as the wire is finer and does not destroy the minnow as easily as the commonly used number 4 hook. The perch don't seem to mind the size and readily bite the pinheads. The bad thing with a number 8 hook is that a higher % of the smaller throw back perch are to deeply hooked to be released in a condition that would facilitate survival.

[Fishin'Lectrician]

Wakina thanks for the heads up on bring minnows. I don't want any trouble with the DNR, we will just get what we can when we get there.

[wakina]

Wakina thanks for the heads up on bring minnows. I don't want any trouble with the DNR, we will just get what we can when we get there.

If you launch from Turtle Creek or any where around Davis Bessie there will be or should be frozen shiners available at several locations! That is if there are no fresh live shiners available. Happy Hooker, Deans Drive Thru, Maybe AnJ baits as well as some further west! Good luck. I will post as soon as I can if there are shiners available or not.

[wakina]

I just made 4 calls and no one has any shiners and they said they would have to get real lucky to have any for tomorrow! Looks like a tuff weekend fishing with Fatheads that A-n-J said they have in stock or frozen ones that could be in short Supply also with all of the fishermen hitting the water this weekend!

A-n-J does not have frozen shiner! I just got off the phone with their shop.

[cblewis]

Wakina - If I strike out on the minnows tomorrow I will just switch to walleye. Any reports around the cans where they might / could be?

[wakina]

Happy Hooker and Deans Drive Thru say they have frozen shiners. Deans is located just before the Toussaint River bridge headed East on Rt. 2. It is the BP station.

[wakina]

Wakina - If I strike out on the minnows tomorrow I will just switch to walleye. Any reports around the cans where they might / could be?

From the reports that I have gotten there are still some in the triangle that would be formed from Niagara to N Bass to Green and back to Niagara. Big area I know but that is as close as I can tell you. That is where the head boats and some charters are getting them. They gave no spesifics just general area of where they are catching eyes.