Lake Erie Perch 2016

[dukhnter8]

I was out Saturday and Monday as well. Saturday was packed and imagine it will be packed this weekend. Perch are definitely starting to spawn, quite a few spraying as you brought them in. Got into them Monday but had to move around came home with 15 Monday and 9 Saturday but threw back a bunch of the big females loaded with eggs, the ones that could get back down some had their air bladders coming out of their mouth.

I can see where the spot lock on the trolling motor is worth its weight in gold, I was moving around and would find a school but then trying to anchor on top of them was hard.

Water temps was 45 on Monday.

[Reel 'em in Rinallo]

Tried out of the Catt fri. Tried straight out and in front of Evangola  between 45 and 60 fow. Blank screen all morning. Skunked

[Born to Fish]

We fished out of Sturgeon Sunday and kept 43 hoggers in about two hours.

We got lucky and found a small school of nice fish.

Also if you reel them in slow the swim bladders won't blow up

[Pequod1]

Plenty of perch still not spawned out at Sturgeon yesterday. caught as many as we wanted. Some people did not do as well and watching them it seems to come down to two big problems they have. First, they need plenty of road, chain and a good anchor. Can't catch fish if you can't hold bottom and constantly move out of the hot spot. The second thing I noticed was their set ups. My God, what is this the 50's? Get rid of those giant spreader bars, stiff short rods and 10 lb+ mono. Keep it long, light and simple and you might just get more perch.

[RD9]

Are you saying the guys using 8 lb braid with floro carbon leaders and fast action tip with a sinker less then two ounces out fish the others? Lol.

One huge trick to catch light biting fish is to touch bottom and slack you're line. This allows the fish to eat the minnow and feel no tension. Slowly lift rod and if there is any wieght set the hook. You will only feel the weight not a bite like if you're line was tight. When the bite is good I just let the minnow sit slack on bottom and set hook five seconds later without feeling a bite. On tough days this separates the guys that catch ten from the guys who catch five times that many.

[Pequod1]

Excellent RD. That is the #1 way to go. The larger perch just suck that minnow down without you knowing it. A reel sensitive rod helps too. I use custom rods built by another member here, and the lightest set up I can get away with. 

[Gator]

Ha! He fishes custom rods. Little does he know I build them out of used pool cues 

[lineman49]

 Watch the rod tip lift up a hair & set the hook, fish on!

[potsie225]

King- did it for my first time ever yesterday with a guy who does it often - get Emeralds and some rigs and go to the boats. It's pretty simple, had a blast.

can you net the emeralds at the launchs or buy at a bait store?

[jimski2]

39 degree water is the turnover temperature where the water bottom temperature and the surface temperature are the same. The density thins as water warms up and colder water stays deeper.

[jimski2]

Some boats have had catches of sixty perch this weekend. 60 foot of water off Evangola Park and Point Breeze. You have to search hard for them. Many boats did not find them.

[Pequod1]

Pretty good article on the perch population in Erie in today's Buffalo outdoors by Will Elliott. I don't know how to copy and paste on my I pad but google it. Essentially, there is a drop in the perch population and no one knows why. It also went on to say that the New York harvest of Erie perch is below the sustainable levels and the DEC discussion of lowering the 50 fish limit was "off the table"

[jimski2]

Many perch fisherman to Lake Erie travel great distances at considerable expense because the catch

Limit is reasonable. Canada put a 25 perch limit on and many Americans quit traveling there since is not economical. Yellow perch and walleye now sell for more than $20 a pound for filets from Canada so why not have Americans catch their own perch?

[jimski2]

Lake Erie bottom waters are almost devoid of fish. It could be a deleted oxygen situation down there from the algae blooms that died. I have no other explanation for the perch difficulty.

[RD9]

We have been catching them trolling out in 75 ft in front of Dunkirk.

[jimski2]

Sunday we tried from 68 foot where the screen showed fish on the bottom. After 10 moves we had 3 perch. Maybe deeper it will happen but at 70 foot the fish disappeared.

[Pequod1]

Thanks for trying. Going to try myself later in August. They have been getting them on the head boat in Conneaut.

[RD9]

We have been catching multiple jumbo perch trolling off vanburen. Last time we caught 5 some are suspended.

[Reel 'em in Rinallo]

Has any one perch fished Sturgeon yet this fall?  I was marking a lot while trolling last week

[Pequod1]

Got 28 today out of the Cat. Fished 78' about halfway between the Cat and Sturgeon.