Seneca Perch

[ac holmes]

I have not fished for perch on Seneca in a long time. We used to catch them we we were kids (50 years ago) off docks with Oak leaf grubs quite easily, and some days we would get a lot of them...other days, nothing. I was doing a little snooping last weekend from a small boat near Watkins Glen with a good sonar unit and found some large schools of smaller fish that were probably Perch. I fished for an hour or so with nightwalkers in 30-40 feet of water and caught 2 big fat ones. Then nothing at all, but the schools were still there. It was too windy to fish very well (the anchor wouldn't hold), so I went back the next day and the fish were gone...nothing.

I have some time on my hands for a month or so and have access to a nice 16 footer with an outboard. Any advice on how to catch some perch? I do not have much skill with perch and would appreciate some info. Generally, the perch guys are quite secretive and tend to keep their mouths shut, but I see them sneaking fish over the transoms and I hear rumors of good perch fishing currently, all over Seneca.

Last spring, I caught 2 fish one day on the downriggers, a small LL and a huge perch (he hit a moose look spoon). I cooked both of those fish, side by side, on the grill that night and I remembered how delicious perch were to eat, compared to trout and salmon. Both are good but that perch was the best, in my opinion.

Maybe the proliferation of weeds in recent years has helped the perch population. What do you think?

[FLXTroutman]

I read once about letting your first perch out of the school back in the water with a bobber and 30-50 foot leader still hooked, if the school moves you can follow And keep fishing and pull in your marker when you are done. As far as the tight lipped perch fisherman Belhurst castle seems to be talked about often or just follow the boats out of the launch if Possible. Good luck and pick your days since you have the time

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[Gill-T]

The oldtimers on Erie use hand lines with multiple hooks. Emerald shiners are King on Erie,but if the graph is full below the boat, the perch guys pull out the eyes of the fish they caught and use them. Boat control is key. Anchors, drift bags, electric trolling motors etc. Best to stay vertical over the fish.

[rnsurfnturf]

if its anything like otisco this time of year.......put the nightcrawlers away

minnows minnows minnows

been doin well with fatheads ...even catchin little 5 inch perch on a 3" fathead that already had a 3" fathead in its throat that it stole from me minutes earlier!

we can fish over a school with fatheads and do great and drop a crawler down at the same time...nothing

[ac holmes]

Thanks guys for the advice...bobber, eyeballs and minnows. The perch won't have a chance! How do you rig? Fish the bottom? What size hooks?

[FLXTroutman]

hey acholmes, check this thread from IBAY, good details that could be utilized on other bodies of water

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=28113

[ac holmes]

It is hard to find oak leaf grubs this year because of all the gully washers this summer and fall...fathead minnows I guess. Some folks told me to "drop shot with sliders" today, and I understood some of what they said but don't have a clear picture. Anybody who can explain this technique!

[rnsurfnturf]

not sure about the slider....maybe slip float?

Iv'e been dropshotting ...sinker on bottom #4 aberdeen a foot up or a snelled #4 .... seems over here 1 style works better than the other at certain times

If they are chewing well and you seem to lose a minnow every time you catch a perch cut up a small perch into 1-2" strips a 1/4 ' wide skin on

you can catch quite a few on one piece..those little striped magicians can't quite rip it off!

[ac holmes]

Thanks for the info...I am going to give it a whack in the AM. I found out what a slider is: a little rubber grub made by "GULP" and white or black are supposed to be best. They are fished as described with a sinker on the bottom and with two aberdeen hooks directly off the main line (no snell or leader), with a palomar knot to keep the hook erect (if you pardon the expression). This setup provides the best opportunity to react quickly to tiny taps...so they say. We will see tomorrow. Also, a perch guy told me to find a school first and be real quiet and slow, especially in an aluminum boat, because the school will spook easily. I know a person well who speaks truth about fishing and claims a friend of his caught 100 fish over last weekend.

[W.W.IV.]

I was told by a local last Sunday that the perch were hitting on the east shore at the town of Volouis on rt 414. look for boats in the bay.Sliders are a paddle tail crappy size soft bait. Google Sliders.Find school anchor off to the side quietly and cast to the perch.Good luck. I got this info. from a fishermen on Ice shanty.com due to hight price of gas I didn't get to try it .

[panfisher]

I used to catch jumbo perch in Seneca with light-weight trolling spoons like Miller and Sutton spoons trolling about 50 ft down. You would also catch other fish doing the same thing, like smallies, landlocks and rainbows. Lately, dropping a soft plastic body jig (sometimes a bucktail COMBINED WITH a plastic tube, grub, or swimbait on the hair jig), dropped down to the level of perch marks, which are usually around 30 to 50 ft down, works. And the fish are "jacks"....