Gary Engberg Outdoors

March Transition: “Run and Gun Perch Tactics at Late Ice” by Jason Mitchell

gengberg February 10th, 2012

March Transitions: “Run and Gun Perch Tactics at Late Ice”
By Jason Mitchell
Strong perch patterns occur across the board at late ice. Typical locations include gravel and sand, subtle rolling structure that is connected to the shoreline is often productive. During the late ice period, perch often move shallow and if there is atypical rule of thumb regarding shallow perch, it is that they are aggressive and on the move. These fish run in packs and don’t stick around. These nomads can be difficult to locate but when you find them, they often bite. Some lakes turn on during the day when the sun pops out, other lakes are morning and evening bites where the bite peaks when the sun is on the horizon. What is universal however is just how aggressive these fish get when you find them up shallow.
Each lake has a personality. Leech Lake has really kicked in as a great winter late ice perch factory. Many perch on Leech are coming off of large sand and sand grass flats where fish. Mille Lacs, Winnebago and Lake Winnie are also top bets that see suicidal shallow bites on jumbo perch. The Glacial Lakes of South Dakota is also noteworthy for enormous fish and Devils Lake, North Dakota is another top choice for true two pound giants.
Drilling an insane amount of holes is one proven tactic for connecting with these here today, gone tomorrow nomads. Finding fish means drilling and moving. When scouting jumbo perch at late ice, a few refinements with tactics, gear and mentality can also help you tag more jumbos this season.
Don’t be afraid to use larger spoons and swim lures in shallow water. These fish are typically aggressive and they can see and feel larger profiles from further away. Once you call in a school of perch and they are stacked up vertically below you in an aggressive state of mind, they are typically going to take turns swinging at your bait. Chrome, gold and perch patterns are all top color producers but get in the mindset that big lures, plenty of flash calls in fish from afar and the more fish you have stacked underneath you, the better. When we are in search mode, we often jig very aggressively in an effort to call in fish and we don’t slow or tone it down until several fish show up and stack below. Get the fish wound up where they stack above each other vertically.
On tougher bites where the bite hasn’t hit full force, treble hooks typically have a little better hooking percentage and is what I prefer until we hit the peak of the day. The peak of the day can vary but typically occurs when the fish are at their most active and aggressive levels, That period of time when the fish are racing to you and chomp down on the lure, holding it. These fish make you look good. When you get on a torrid bite, exchange the treble hooks for larger single hooks as single hooks are much easier to unhook and speed up the down time between fish. Remember that you can prolong this intense activity by just getting the fish unhooked fast and getting back down to the fish. If the fish start to drift off or lose some of their intensity, a phenomenal tactic is to hook and hold a fish above the school. This struggling fish will often pull more perch up off the bottom in an aggressive state of mind. Continue Reading »