Last Chance Jumbos
By Jeff Beckwith
Soon, it’ll be rotten out
there. Not rancid like spoiled produce, but soft and dark
nonetheless. I’m talking about the ice. It’s thick and resolute
now, but it won’t last forever, actually, scarcely longer than a
few weeks, less in some areas.
Fortunately, though, ice
fishing’s swan song is a cheery tune; one fraught with foraging
fish and wonderful weather. And lead vocals are belted out by my
favorites, jumbo perch.
Now I really hate being a
killjoy, especially in an upbeat discussion about perching, but
it’s necessary to first underscore ice safety. Folks do some
pretty stupid stuff at winter’s end. They drive through open water
along the shore to reach the ice, only to find the watery rift too
wide to cross at day’s end. They’re stranded. Others wheel and
deal across decomposing ice, paying little or no heed to
significant and enlarging fissures, ones spacious enough to
capture a tire, too, maybe the whole enchilada.
Once March rolls around, I
park the rig at the landing and walk, ice permitting, perhaps
four-wheel or sled. Basically, I treat last ice like first ice,
but with an understanding that aged ice can’t be “read” like a
fresh coat. Rather than developing, late ice is deteriorating,
decaying on the inside as it absorbs surface melt. Visibly
speaking, the blacker it appears the weaker it is, too.
As reassurance, I wear a
lifejacket, carry hand picks, and fish with a partner, despite the
fact that I trust my ability to decipher ice conditions.
Ramifications are too grave to rely on speculation alone.
Enough preaching, though;
let’s move onto the where’s, how’s, and what’s. Basically, the
month of March can be cleaved into two parts: Early March and Late
March. During Early March – the first week or two – perch remain
engaged in midwinter patterns. They’re not exceedingly aggressive,
either, preferring smaller baits and subtler jigging motions. They
reside on offshore humps with sharp breaks, as well as deep flats.
But all that’s about to
change…
Long about the time you
tire of fishing deep and offshore, the perch wear out their
welcome too. So they move up. At first, this push shoreward
predicates on a change in dinner plans. Shoreline zones begin to
bustle with aquatic life, chiefly baitfish and insects. Later, as
the ice recedes, perch stay in tight, but their concentration then
divides between eating and mating.
Perch set their sights on
specific areas during the migration too. Cattail lined shorelines
and deeper sloughs are a couple of the chosen areas. Banks of
emergent cattails mark the whereabouts of soft substrates that are
home to edibles. It’s usual for anglers to ignore said areas, too,
because muck is seldom linked to perch. But during late ice, perch
will wallow in the mud if they’re well fed.
Stands of bulrushes have
similar powers; they too teem with foodstuffs. Typically, though,
rushes sprout over sand and gravel areas, which are preferred by
perch anyway. Deeper rushes are superior too, so search for stems
stabbing skyward in 4 to 6 feet of water.
While discussing
vegetation, one can’t neglect cabbage beds, either. Even fields of
withered cabbage attract perch. Aquatic insects still writhe in
mats of browned salad. Deeper beds – 10 to 18 feet – tend to
harbor more perch as well.
Humps, bars, and points
that adjoin spawning areas also hold fish. Generally, I look for
such structures in depths of 6 to 20 feet that feature level
feeding areas on top and distinct breaks along their flanks.
A change in behavior
accompanies this passage to shoreline tracts too. Perch become
cranky, aggressive, and take these frustrations out on the forage
base. They not only consume in volumes, but choose bigger targets
as well.
In response, I wield
fairly large lures, ¼ ouncers. My preferred offering is a Scenic
Tackle Glow Devil in either Firetiger (perch), orange/chartreuse,
or glow pink. JB Lures’ Varmint Spoon and Northland Tackle’s
Forage Minnow Spoon are laudable alternatives.
Jigging a spoon is an “in
your face” approach. The lure falls fast, reaching the strike zone
right now. In a hot hole, you’ll actually see – via a Vexilar –
red missiles rising off the bottom to intercept the lure. But if
nothing attacks on the initial drop, I let the spoon smack the
bottom, then raise it a foot, and commence jigging with steady 6
inch motions. In these times where something’s going somewhere,
though, I won’t burn more than a couple minutes in a cool hole.
Oppositely, if the
action’s blistering, I rig a secondary setline for bruisers-only.
Suspended by a float, this supporting apparatus features a Scenic
Tackle Fatso Jig and walleye-sized fathead or rainbow chub. It’s
not unusual for the chunkiest perch of the day to come on the
setline, either.
Late mornings still yield
the best bite too. That’s a universal certainty, no matter the
season or region. And during March, warming sunshine seems to
really rouse spirits. It’s tough to think about work on a balmy
and sunlit March day.
During late ice, schools
of perch can be quite voluminous too. So even if you tap into a
swarm of puny fish, don’t fret, because legitimate jumbos might be
only 40 or 50 paces away. And put a governor on that bucket,
because there’s no shame in releasing jumbo perch…
Editor’s note: The
Angel Eye, Angel Eye Jr., Glow Devil, and Fatso Jig by Scenic
Tackle are available at select sporting goods stores and bait
shops across the Ice Fishing Belt. For more information, call
(218) 751-9669, or visit Scenic Tackle’s website at
www.scenictackle.com .
