Kidding Around With Perch
By the On Ice Tour Pro Staff
Catching Perch through the
ice can sometimes be like taking candy from a baby. Cut a dozen
holes, drop an underwater camera down, find a school of perch,
drop a minnow or a lure down, watch the lines come together on the
Vexilar, feel the bite, reel ‘em in – one after the other.
Suckerrrrrrs (unintelligent perch, that is).
At other times, you do
everything the same as above just to watch the perch swim away
like it didn’t even notice your presentation. It’s kind of like
the way a 5-year-old ignores both the vegetables on his or her
plate, as well as the parent’s instructions to eat those veggies.
Who’s the sucker now?
The
ardent angler doesn’t have to be the stooge. All it takes is a
little understanding. If the perch are going to act like
children, then treat them like children. Get down on their level,
make a game out of it, and sooner or later you’ll have a mess of
them. Here are some great tactics to use the next time you run
into punky, pesky perch:
Tease the Perch
Perch do not fit the mold
when it comes to the classification of panfish. Where bluegills
and crappies like slow, subtle, pulsating movements similar to
that of a freshwater shrimp, zooplankton or other aquatic insect
or larvae, perch usually like something that’s moving.
Instead of dropping the
lure just inches above the face of a waiting perch and holding it
there, pretend your lure is saying, “Na-na-na-na-na-na, you can’t
catch me.” Drop your presentation below the perch, snap it up six
to twelve inches, wiggle it wildly, drop it down again and repeat
the action. Sooner or later, the perch will jump on the lure like
a crazy chicken on a wounded June bug. And once you figure out
how to get one to bite, the rest will often follow. Sometimes
peer pressure can be a good thing.
Hide and Go Seek
Sometimes, you know you’re
in the right spot. You’ve caught a few jumbos, and you can still
mark them on your electronics or spot them on the Aqua-Vu; but as
quickly as they bit, they went into naptime. Move to a hole close
by and wiggle and jiggle your presentation.
No bites? Make another
small move, again and again until you get bit or find yourself
back at the hot hole where you started. Somewhere along the line,
those perch will usually bite. If not, you might want to leave
the area for more active fish, returning every hour or so until
they turn back on again. Ready or not, here we come!
Trick or Treats
Cold fronts, an
overabundance of forage, clear water or too much fishing pressure
will usually make perch sluggish. Although these fish can be
enticed to approach aggressive and/or large presentations, they
usually can’t be goaded into striking them. If they do hit, they
often won’t fully inhale the lure, and the result is a missed
fish.
Have a second rod on
standby rigged with a small horizontal ice jig, such as a Lindy
Techni-Glo Fat Boy or a Northland Forage Minnow Fry, tipped with a
tiny offering of a waxworm or a Berkley Power Natural Maggot. The
slow rate of fall and easy-to-inhale features of this presentation
will usually result in a follow-up strike and a positive hook up.
To pull this off in deep
water, use this same offering and a six-inch piece of Berkley
Vanish 3-pound test to attach this same small offering to a hook
less rattling spoon. Northland’s Buckshot Rattling Spoon and the
Lindy Rattl’r Spoon are both great choices. Drop it back down in
place of the unsuccessful presentation, and get ready to set the
hook. Sluggish perch a knockin’? Trick ‘em with a spoon and
treat ‘em to a tidbit.
Reverse psychology
Kamikaze perch will
sometimes rise 15 feet to hit a descending lure. Perch can see a
long way, especially in the clear water of winter. Use this to
your advantage the next time they get stubborn. Reel your lure up
to the hole, and on a slack line, drop it back down again. Let it
fall all the way to the bottom. This will usually get their
attention – causing them to swim from great distances to see
what’s up. Take the lure away from them again, back to the
surface, and repeat the process.
Pay close attention to
your flasher or underwater camera. If you notice a fish that is
rising to meet the lure, hit the brakes about a foot above it, and
start slowly pumping and swimming the lure upward. The aggressor
will usually follow and strike. If you see the reverse happening
-- a fish following the lure down after the lure passes it on the
drop, let it sit on the bottom until the fish gets there. You’ll
be amazed how many will slurp it off the bottom. Now look who the
sucker is!
Nap Time - Lunch Time
Regardless of which
tactics you choose, most perch fishing situations require one
additional motion mixed in. Actually, it’s no motion! From
aggressively jigging a spoon to the subtle strokes you use to swim
an ice fly, an opportunity for consumption must be offered.
“Napping” (pausing) the lure provides that opportunity by
stimulating the predator instincts of perch, and it will usually
entice them to gobble up the offering. The key is to vary the
length of the pause until you determine the most effective time
frame. Usually, this will correlate with the aggressiveness of
the perch. Pause lengths may vary from 2 or 3 seconds to a minute
depending on the mood of the fish. The more sluggish they are, the
longer the pause. When it comes to perch, sometimes the right
move for success is no move at all.
Not only are these
effective techniques that will put more perch on the ice, they
also have a tendency to put a smile on the face of both the youth
and the adults in your angling party. Kids can simply be
themselves and be successful perch anglers. For the adults it’s
an easy rule of thumb to remember: Stop acting your age and start
kidding around!
Editors Note: On
Ice Tour (a division of WildSide Diversified), co-founded by Chip
Leer and Tommy Skarlis, is an extensive effort focusing on
generating excitement for the great sport of ice fishing. For
more articles, fishing tips, info on the latest and greatest ice
gear or a schedule of On Ice Tour Pro Staff appearances, log onto
www.onicetour.com
