The most important key to cashing in on early
season perch action is location. The fact is, you can’t
catch them where they’re not. If you’re doing
everything right but in the wrong place you’ll come
home empty handed. On the other hand, if you’re doing
everything wrong but in the right place you can still catch
a few.
Fortunately for us finding perch at first ice is a relatively
easy task and is as simple as following the good ice. The
first place to develop good ice is the shallows (especially
the shallow bays), off the main lake. It’s also the
very place where you should start your search, and do it
as soon as you can. The action can be extremely intense,
but is usually short lived. The “hot action”
can be expected to last a week or two at the most, and may
be completely over by the time you hear about it.
Ron Anlauf zeroed in on a bunch of jumbo |
Although restricting your search to the
shallow bays can save some time, many of them may be
too massive to be thoroughly checked out. You’d
be better served by narrowing your search even farther
and limiting your efforts to high percentage spots,
like the mouths of the bays where they meet up with
the main lake. Those are high percentage spots that
can concentrate fish, and concentrations are exactly
what you’re looking for. A good bay will likely
have perch spread throughout and fish can be found in
many different locations, but it’s the concentrations
that can provide the intensity as well as most of the
fun. Other key areas would include structure within
the bay like breaks or drop offs, as well as bars, reefs,
and even weed lines. |
Weed lines are often overlooked and can hold more than
their share of green and yellow gold. While the last stand
of green healthy weeds are preferred, it’s not an
absolute necessity. Whether standing or laying down, the
old weed line can hold perch and is worth checking out.
Break lines can be easily found with an electronic depth
finder shot directly through the ice, as well as any fish
that might be hanging out just off the bottom. A handheld
that is the size of a flashlight and is designed to help
ice anglers find structure fast. With a self lighting torch
and a handheld you can fire up, melt a little ice and get
a reading in seconds and can show you depth and fish.
Once you’ve settled on a starting spot the next
step is to drill a few holes. It can pay to drill a few
extra up front, which may save you valuable fishing time
later on. Perch can turn on and off at that the drop of
a hat and a move to a fresh hole may be required to keep
icing fish. Instead of pulling up stakes and moving to a
completely different area you may be better off jumping
hole to hole and grabbing the fish that have become active.
When the perch are really going anything you drop down
the hole will get hit. However, when the bite is off subtle
changes in presentation can make a big difference. Little
changes like a softer jigging technique, or tipping with
a waxie instead of a minnow, or even the color of your bait
can spell the difference between success and an empty bucket.
Jigging spoons are made to be jigged but when things slow
up it can pay to slow down a bit and use a much more subdued
technique. Instead of a hard snap try holding the bait perfectly
still, with an occasional bump or twitch. If you’re
using an electronic depth finder like the Humminbird Ice
55 you can see how fish react to the bait. The Ice 55 has
excellent target separation and will help you see fish that
are holding tight to the bottom. If your watching the depth
finder and see that the twitch chases fish away you may
be better off keeping the bait motionless. You may also
fare better by switching to a smaller bait, like from an
1/8oz to maybe a 1/16 oz jig. The Northland Tackle Buck-Shot
Rattle Spoon comes in both those sizes and is an excellent
perch bait. It also comes in some incredible finishes including
Super-Glo Perch and Super-Glo Firetiger which are top perch
producing colors.
A good plan of attack would include working a spoon in
one hole while dropping a little jig like a #8 Northland
Doodle Bug tipped with a small minnow or waxie on a set
rig down another. Although a jigging spoon has the ability
to attract fish from greater distances, it might take the
tiny jig to close the sale.
When it comes to finding and catching early ice perch
it pays to be mobile. Fish that where here today may be
long gone tomorrow and if you’re not prepared to make
a move you may be severely limiting your opportunities.
Portable shelters, power augers and electronic depth finders
are tools of the trade and can help make your a job a lot
easier, and more comfortable. The Eskimo Escape 200 is a
neat new shelter that balances the need for comfort with
the ability to be portable. It’s a roomy two man flip
over style house that is still light enough to be drug behind
when you’re hoofing it across first ice. It has a
super comfortable bench seat that prevents fatigue and should
help to keep you on the ice much longer. If your comfortable
you’ll fish longer, which can increase your chances
for getting in on the bite of a lifetime. See you on the
ice.
Ron Anlauf
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