The Pursuit of Perch

by Joe Balog, Clam Pro Staff

Sunfish are nice, walleyes are great, but in my neck of the woods, the perch is king. In areas where yellow perch are accessible to ice anglers, it’s tough to beat a day of hunting down the hawgs. Due to their aggressiveness through the cold water period, as well as their “pack behavior”, perch make great targets for a fun day out on the ice. To up the odds of making contact with some keepers, anglers new to perch fishing should simplify their tackle choices and, instead, concentrate on covering water.

It’s vitally important when ice fishing that the areas of the lake anglers choose to target be clear as possible. Perch are sight feeders, so the better they can see, the better the chances of catching them. So, first and foremost, always hunt out the cleanest water in the area. Perch can be surprisingly shallow in winter, especially if there’s abundant vegetation for them to hunt in, so don’t feel the need to go way out in the lake to find fish, especially in early and late ice periods. Perch feed on small panfish around the shallow water weed beds, and can often be caught sight fishing if conditions allow. For these tactics, the best thing to do is cover a lot of ground until productive grass beds are found. Perch like weeds broken up by clear sandy spots, or the mix of several types of vegetation. A jig and plastic, like a Nuggie tail on a tungsten head, imitates a young panfish well and can be fished in the thickest cover. Around the edges and clear spots, nothing beats a perch colored #2 Rapala Jigging Rap for covering water. Drill a bunch of holes. Fish each for ten minutes and move on until the right depth is found.

Another perch option is hitting the harbor areas at first ice. The major harbors on the Great Lakes and other large bodies of water in the north are often deep, dredged “mini lakes”. These areas offer protected, stable conditions that draw baitfish, most notably shiners, by the millions in late fall as the main lake cools. Perch follow this migration to the harbors and offer phenomenal ice fishing early on. Again, stay mobile to find the productive harbors. The right areas will “harbor” huge schools, so finding them is unmistakable. Stick with a shiner imitating Jigging Rap or a jigging spoon for this duty – again, ten minutes, maximum, per area. Canal systems, river by-passes, and other man made areas can offer the same early ice action, providing the water is relatively deep and stable. If the first holes drilled show dirty water, keep moving.

When ice fishing, covering water is often easier said than done, especially for anglers walking from spot to spot. Luckily, perch possess a main weakness that allows us to hone in on them: aggression. Being schooling fish, they often feed out of what appears to be sheer gluttony, or possibly to keep food away from other perch. In any case, use that to your advantage this winter. Keep a few tried and true baits in your pocket, leave the live bait at home, and keep moving.