St.albans Bay

[PerchSlayer21]

So I heard that the white perch r back up at st.albans Bay, I heard a guy got 100 pounds of them the other day, can anybody confirm that, prob gonna head up first thing Monday morning with a buddy of mine, try to find them, any help wud b great, and how much ice is up there.

[Lord_of_the_Perch]

I can't confirm or deny it. There was one guy out by the buoy the last couple days; but I didn't see any White Perch tallied at the bait shop. They aren't paying much for them (if that matters).

Saw one ATV (first one this year) out by the island...he didn't fish long.

[PerchSlayer21]

Ya I'm looking to get enough for a meal, maybe set up few tips ups in shallower for pike maybe, white perch is an amazing eating fish, but nice to have a nice fish fry.

[shiveringjoe]

I just pulled my last bag of fillets from the freezer, hope to catch more soon! All i need is one good trip and I'm set for small fish for the year.

[flagfishon]

I walked out from Hathaway yesterday.  Couldn't find much of anything.  Only a few yellows and no whites.  I was out from 1-5 in fifteen feet.

[thefishingweatherman]

I walked out from Hathaway yesterday.  Couldn't find much of anything.  Only a few yellows and no whites.  I was out from 1-5 in fifteen feet.

I think generally you're more apt to find them in that shallow late in the season. We have gotten a mess of them out there in like 50 or 60 feet early in the season.

[PerchSlayer21]

Has that happened to u this year already, or r u talking in years past, I just wanna get a good mess of them, I'm down in Barre so I don't wanna make that drive all the way up there and get skunked.

[shiveringjoe]

Has that happened to u this year already, or r u talking in years past, I just wanna get a good mess of them, I'm down in Barre so I don't wanna make that drive all the way up there and get skunked.

Give it a couple weeks and your trip will be worthwhile. They tend to be much more elusive until March. If I were to look for them now I would definitely be out deeper than 15'.

[perchkiller123]

hows the ice out there?

[fishstalker]

I drove out to kilcare today and there was still spots with open water

[Perchorbust]

Hi all,  I'm headed out there Monday to try for whites for the first time,  anyone willing to share what they use for a rig to catch them?  Similar to yellows?    Thank you

[perchkiller123]

I normally start with bibits but have caught them on all different things

[flagfishon]

If you get into a big school, which could be in the thousands, they seem to hit anything.  When there are only a few, they seem to be more cautious but most jigs tipped with minnow or eye should work.

[dunphy11]

They can be overfished. It happened here on Lake Winnipesaukee. Many people in the 70`s-80`s were taking way to many with no limits on them. Guys from VT were coming over and filling the beds of their pickups. You can`t even come close to finding them like that, pretty happy to get 10 or so for a fish fry. Great sushi fish.

[JMailbox8]

They can be overfished. It happened here on Lake Winnipesaukee. Many people in the 70`s-80`s were taking way to many with no limits on them. Guys from VT were coming over and filling the beds of their pickups. You can`t even come close to finding them like that, pretty happy to get 10 or so for a fish fry. Great sushi fish.

Good luck overfishing them in Lake Champlain. Would be a blessing to rid them though. Hope you at least freeze them to kill off the tapeworms before eating them raw.

[dunphy11]

Good luck overfishing them in Lake Champlain. Would be a blessing to rid them though. Hope you at least freeze them to kill off the tapeworms before eating them raw.

Never ever seen any kind of worm or parasite on or in a white, and I`ve fished for them nearly 50 + years.. Some very skilled chefs I know turned me onto them being sushi grade and we`re all still here and healthy. Actually put on 15-20 lbs since eating them this way. I did find the smaller ones more desirable. I take the fillet put it in a zip lock ,pour in about a 1/4 cup of quality soy sauce and let them soak for a day.
Do you guy`s actually find parasites in the whites from Champlain? Just curious if they are susceptible in different environments.

[spot]

Do you guy`s actually find parasites in the whites from Champlain? Just curious if they are susceptible in different environments.

never found one in a white perch myself, but all fish are susceptible to parasites. Freezing does kill most of them... a swim in 375 degree oil has been known to kill all of them. 

[VTMatt]

Haven't seen one either.  Not sure if it has to do with habitat but you'd think you'd see at least a few.  We know they hang around yellows in the summer in the weeds and also out in the deep, but still I haven't seen any, ever.  Pretty interesting.

[JMailbox8]

Never ever seen any kind of worm or parasite on or in a white, and I`ve fished for them nearly 50 + years.. Some very skilled chefs I know turned me onto them being sushi grade and we`re all still here and healthy. Actually put on 15-20 lbs since eating them this way. I did find the smaller ones more desirable. I take the fillet put it in a zip lock ,pour in about a 1/4 cup of quality soy sauce and let them soak for a day.
Do you guy`s actually find parasites in the whites from Champlain? Just curious if they are susceptible in different environments.

You can't always see parasites or bacteria growing on or in fish. It's always better to be safe than sorry. By law, even sushi grade tuna must be frozen for a certain amount of time to kill parasites. Here is a good page on parasites of freshwater fish.
http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/fisheries/parasites#common

[dunphy11]

You can't always see parasites or bacteria growing on or in fish. It's always better to be safe than sorry. By law, even sushi grade tuna must be frozen for a certain amount of time to kill parasites. Here is a good page on parasites of freshwater fish.
http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/fisheries/parasites#common

Thanks for the info that is a great response. The tapeworm thing kind of got to me
Here are some NH whites I caught as the storm fired up last night, some of the biggest I`ve ever caught. 2 biggest were 15" and just shy of 3#

[thefishingweatherman]

Nice whites! They look like footballs!

[JMailbox8]

Nice catch! I didn't mean to sound paranoid about parasites, I just figured I'd pass on what I learned about eating fish raw. Also, about my comment on overfishing whites in Lake Champlain, they are not native and are seen by many fisherman as a nuisance to the yellow perch and walleye population (possible others) as they compete and eat young and eggs.

[Jschumacher]

There's a mess of whites. Good eats.

[dunphy11]

Nice catch! I didn't mean to sound paranoid about parasites, I just figured I'd pass on what I learned about eating fish raw. Also, about my comment on overfishing whites in Lake Champlain, they are not native and are seen by many fisherman as a nuisance to the yellow perch and walleye population (possible others) as they compete and eat young and eggs.
[/quote All good man! I know whites are seen as invasive in Maine also. Yellows in certain water bodies are considered invasive too in Maine. I just see whites as an exceptionall clean table fish, and people compete for good spots to catch them. I don`t keep any more than I can eat as I don`t really like them , or any other fish as much after they have been frozen.  But they are really great sushi. I tried the soy bath and found it the best way for me to enjoy them raw. Good luck with catching what you enjoy to eat!

[mudchuck]

got into them, little over 100# big jumbos mostly.
couldn't get to the big yellows thru all the whites

[Lord_of_the_Perch]

got into them, little over 100# big jumbos mostly.
couldn't get to the big yellows thru all the whites

Did you loose your Marcum

[LukeB]

Mudchuck were you using a bibbet or something else? Spikes or perch eyes? Tried a little bit of everything today and couldn't get them figured out.

[dunphy11]

Now there is a nice catch of Perch. Some poor mans shrimp with cocktail sauce and a few cold ones just because.

I completely understand that! Yum

[mudchuck]

yes thanks for getting me my flasher that fell off coming onto shore.
those whites only want live and dead/cut minnows.
the yellows liked the cut minnows too.
tried crawlers and nothing but dinks would take them.
loads of bait showing up on the flasher too.
never bothered with the spikes since the minnows worked well.

[Troutmagnet]

Are they still in deeper water or are they coming in closer to shore?