When the last layers of ice finally start to give way to open
water, panfish respond and will move into specific shallow areas
where the can be readily caught, you just have to know when
and where. Most of the early season panfish attention is directed
towards sunfish and especially crappies, but there’s one
more member of the family that usually gets passed over and
its jumbo perch.
Perch will make shallow water runs and are just as vulnerable
but the action is usually short lived and you better be on your
toes if you want to get your share. Unlike sunfish and crappies
whose earliest runs are mainly feeding forays that can last
for up to a month, perch come in to feed and spawn on the same
run, and it happens fast. The good news is the action can be
extremely intense and you can hit it big if you’re in
the right place at the right time.
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Movements correlate with optimum water temperatures
and typically occur when they have warmed up into the
forty-five to fifty degree range, which closely follows
the walleye spawn. Within a week or so of ice-out is what
it really boils down to, but can happen almost immediately
if the spring warm up and meltdown has been delayed. Even
if the temps aren’t quite there their bodies are
still ready to go, so don’t let temperature be your
only guide. Some of the better areas to start searching
for all of that green and yellow gold are in the back
ends of shallow bays and channels. Not so much the black
bottomed sloppy pad field bays though, but something with
a firmer bottom like sand. An incoming creek can be another
early season magnet and will help warm things up faster
than areas that would otherwise be the same. Female perch
will move in and lay their eggs by stringing it out across
old vegetation and they don’t seem to be that fussy
about where they do it. |
Last years stands of reeds, cane, and cabbage beds etc. are
all potential spawning sites. It really won’t take that
long to find out if you’re in the right area once you
start looking because in most cases they can be seen and readily
caught.
The catching is what it’s all about and is as pure as
it can get. Casting and pitching light jigs tipped with a plastic
trailer and maybe a minnow is what we’re really into and
is a great way to give your jigging skills a tune-up. A short
cast to the edge of a weed bed, a close-in drop off or break
line, or the middle of a bay will get you started, and all of
the aforementioned has the potential to hold active perch. And
don’t be afraid to pitch up into real shallow water, because
you just never know and you don’t want to overlook anything.
Light jigs and plastic combinations like a Northland Tackle
Slurpies Panfish Tube or a Swim Shiner, is perfect for working
shallow water perch. When the bite’s on the plastic is
all you’ll need, but if it’s off or they’re
a little sluggish you might want to tip it with a smaller minnow.
You can use the same gear you’d use for taking on ol’
marble eyes and includes six foot light action spinning rods
like St. Croix’s Legend Tournament model TWS60LF which
has a fast tip and is a perfect jigging rod. The difference
over walleye gear would be the use of lighter line and four
pound test green Silver Thread would be more applicable. The
lighter line will give you more control and better feel with
the light jigs, and is less affected by the wind than the heavier
stuff.
Perch are fun to catch, great to eat, and not all that tough
to pin down. Ice-out perch action can be absolutely phenomenal
at times, and is really a matter of perfect timing and the window
of opportunity can slam shut much too fast. A little too soon
or a little too late and you could miss the whole thing. But
if you’re ready for it and take the time you could easily
find yourself in middle of a bay chock full of pole bending
jumbos, and it doesn’t get much better than that. See
you on the water.
Ron Anlauf
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