Perch, Perch, and more Perch

Great job you 3 Musketeers

great job guys.
hard to beat a good perch fry!!!
nice to see the perch coming back a bit, I love fishing south haven back in the day.

They seem to get better every year. A factor often overlooked is the off weather years. Last year was a lousy perch year. Not because they were not there but rather because of the weather. It didn't cooperate for the fishing to get good. By the time it did, the fish were gone. This just bodes well for future years. A couple of years back, we were catching tons of bigger fish (not many throw backs). This year, we were catching way more throw backs. Sometimes 25 between 3 of us before getting a good keeper. That makes fishing fun and also ensures future years of fishing.

Grand Haven has potential to be great when the wind is right in the summertime (Kevin and I can both attest to that). South Haven used to be a great time too. Lake Erie is awesome in the late summer and in to fall and Saginaw bay is now getting great runs of quality perch due to them cutting down on the numbers you can keep. What an exciting time!

If you have never tried it before, I recommend doing it at least once. It isn't hard and doesn't cost a ton. I use my electric trolling motor with spot lock, purchase both minnows and wigglers (salad shrimp also work great) and some perch rigs. My preference has been well documented (Ron Spring's Rigs) but any rig will do the job. I like to utilize a 1oz pyramid sinker to get me to the bottom quick.

Many people have a hard time at first recognizing the bite. I like to tell people to keep tension on the rod with the weight on the bottom, drop the tip slack the line and then slowly lift back to tension. You will feel the bite. Also, slowly lift the bait off the bottom. As you are lifting, you will feel the bite. Once you get it, you will own it forever. Wigglers on the bottom and minnows on the top hook have always been my go to however, once you dial in the right setup, you can switch over to all the same bait.

Hooking the minnows can be the difference some days. The other day I noticed that everyone in the boat was using a different way to do it. I started watching other boats and seeing what they were doing and I began to experiment. Hooking the minnow through the eyes didn't yeild near as many bites for me as hooking them through the lips. Then, when I switched over to hooking them through the dorsal fin, the fish really liked that.

Great story. Nothing beats that Perch fishing for fun and eats. I always hook my minnows in the back unless were trolling. Still had a little ice on some of our lakes, now they are calling for 4-7" of snow. Rich, your Perch trip has got me going, can't wait to get out.

Jerry is wondering if this is the size sinker required.....
Attachment 297177


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Bwahahaha

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Funny!

I melted one of those two years ago thinking I would get good lead. It was junk. Low melting point.

That should be just about right with all the wind lately

Seriously what would one use that for, nets?

River boat anchor


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You would need a good winch and rope, that one was just over 50 pounds.

Steve and Aiden stopped by yesterday to visit and we ended up going for a drive. Stopped at Holland Lake, bait shops in Edmore, Six Lakes and Lakeview. Stopped at the Beats-a Tent where Aiden got his first taste of jalapeno pickled eggs. Stopped in at the Amish cheese factory and ate a few samples, watched them make cheese and bought some cheese and cheese curds. Next it was a stop at Sessions Lake to see if anybody was fishing, nobody was, then home. It was a fun day. Steve and Aiden, thanks for helping me waste a day, I had a good time.