Jumbo Perch 101 by Joe Palermo and Strikemaster’s 1-17-2012

gengberg January 17th, 2012

JUMBO PERCH 101
By Joe Palermo

In early to mid-winter jumbo perch can be a little tricky to find, especially if you don’t know what to look for, but keying in on certain areas can promise great success.Perch Palermo

In the mid-winter months (January to late February) perch can be spread over large areas and can be quite hard to pin-point, but knowing their habitat and feeding patterns can prove to be very beneficial in your hunt for these elusive pan fish. Once you find these areas, prepare to be very mobile because these fish can and will move around and you might end up drilling a ton of holes to stay on top of a decent school. Another thing is make sure you have a complete arsenal of jigs to change up your presentation as you may have to find exactly what they want. I like to keep jigs from 1/100 up to a ΒΌ oz, because even the bigger jigs you think wouldn’t work can prove to be a good choice. This time of year perch are usually in bigger schools and they’re looking to feed so they can prepare for the spawn in the later months of the season.

Habitat:

One of the first areas I like to look for jumbo perch are big mud flats, sand, weed flats and even gravel bottoms. These are prime examples of where you usually can expect to find them roaming around foraging for their next meal. Even look for the transition areas from one structure to another as you might find a nice school working an edge. In most lakes where there are jumbo perch, you usually can bet there is a healthy bloodworm hatch or a simple larvae hatch, these are some of the natural food sources these fish depend on throughout the winter month. These are a few areas I like to start with depending on the lake or river I am fishing.

Presentations:

I like to start out with more of a finesse approach by using ultra-light tackle. These fish seem to respond a little better early to mid-season with an ultra-light approach. Perch can be very aggressive early to mid ice when you locate a good school because around this time they are feeding heavily so they can prepare for the spawn in the later months. For starters, I’ll use 2 lb test monofilament line with a 1/80 or even as small as a 1/100 oz jig tipped with a larvae or even Gulp. Once equipped, I drop my line down into the water column to where I am marking fish and hold on! I will start out jigging aggressively to see if I can entice a bite. If the finesse approach isn’t working I’ll change up my presentation to a Swedish Pimple or Lindy Frostee with a minnow or larvae and drop my bait to the bottom, stir up the mud and then slowly raise it up into the column I am fishing. This creates an effect of larvae hatching from the mud and the perch move in to intercept the hatch. These are just a few techniques that I have learned and still practice today.

Late ice tactics:

As we get into late February and early March the perch start moving toward their spawning areas which usually consist of shallow weed beds. Shallow weed beds offer a great place for them to lay their eggs. Once you find where the perch have moved, try drilling a lot of holes and move around with your flasher to find where the suspended fish are. These are the fish still wanting to feed on an easy meal. This is a good place to try a more suttle approach or even a dead stick with a minnow might prove to be effective. These fish still need to feed so they can have a successful spawn and remember perch are very hearty and can adapt to almost any environment and will eat almost anything. Perch will also hang close to the bottom, sometimes only 1-2 ft off the bottom, but these fish could also be waiting to feed.

So my conclusion is this, keep your options open, move around and locate the fish that are active and change up your presentations as the fish dictate them. Remember, mobility is KEY. Remember that and your mission for the elusive jumbo perch will be successful.

Please remember to be safe on the ice! NO ICE IS 100% SAFE. Let someone know where you are going and try to always bring someone with you. Introduce someone new to ice fishing and let them share the experience; doing that makes you an ambassador to the sport we all love.

Good Luck fishing!

For more articles please visit www.midwestextremeoutdoors.com or www.mattjohnsonoutdoors.com

Comments are closed.

Trackback URI |