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Author Topic: Issues finding perch  (Read 2649 times)

Offline Swinginhammers_and_fishin

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Issues finding perch
« on: Jan 19, 2019, 07:06 PM »
I have been almost exclusively jigging for perch so far this season.  I have hit scroon, trout lake, Saratoga and Ballston lakes.  Very little luck on finding the perch. 

I have moved holes & depths a lot between 10’-30’.  Tried to find weed edges.  Have mostly been using a tungsten tipped with a small piece of worm or grub. It just seems dead. 

I don’t have any electronics.  Am I basically facing having to have some sort of sonar?  I would prefer not to..

I am reaching out and would prefer any tips & techniques that may help me.

Thank you guys

Offline FishnChef

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #1 on: Jan 19, 2019, 07:10 PM »
If you can swing a flasher would definitely suggest to getting one, will change your fishing game completely. Without it I would suggest keep doing what you're doing but if you're not getting bit within a few minutes move on to a new hole and cgange yoir presentationi,f you had a flasher you could try to figure out what they want since you know they're down there they're just not responding and cycle through baits to try to figure out what they want. Some days they will hit anything but most days you have to figure out what they want.

Offline fullThrottle

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #2 on: Jan 19, 2019, 07:26 PM »
Yeah you really need sonar if your serious about it. You could waste all day fishing dead holes . What i normally do is hit a weed line and blow it up with holes. And hole hop around not spending more then 5 min at dead hole.

Offline WARRIOR_ON_ICE

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #3 on: Jan 19, 2019, 07:27 PM »
Start using tipups with size 12 treble hooks and fatheads for bait suspended 18 inches off bottom
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Offline tj_cubin

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #4 on: Jan 20, 2019, 06:55 AM »
Try something like a buckshot rattle spoon to call them in.

Set tipups with medium sized minnows. Drill a hole next to each tipup so when you get a flag you can jig right next to it.
Sometimes the perch don’t hit the bigger minnow but will kinda sit there watching it. So even if you aren’t getting flags, hole hop around your tipups.

Offline tblaster123

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #5 on: Jan 20, 2019, 07:02 AM »
As others have said it's all about what they want that day.. I'm not one to switch baits every 5 min and drill 100 holes, but I do notice with tip ups  that some days they really go for a medium shiner, sometimes they want a fathead, and other days they want a small sucker chub. Yesterday I caught some jumbos on chubs I had set for walleyes. They said "no" to the shiners and fatheads

Offline Swinginhammers_and_fishin

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #6 on: Jan 21, 2019, 03:37 PM »
Appreciate all of the suggestions guys.  These are great and I will put them to use and find out what works...and come up with a system.

My question would be this:  a flasher (from what I understand) shows a fish rise to bait.  Wouldn’t a finder be so much more useful to show the school that’s there instead of one fish just checking out your bait?

Offline perchslammer

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #7 on: Jan 21, 2019, 03:52 PM »
Flasher will show multiple fish also

Offline basshunter12748

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #8 on: Jan 21, 2019, 05:28 PM »
Get the flasher and hit on of the lake george bays

Offline jigshimmer

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #9 on: Jan 21, 2019, 06:10 PM »
Definitely easier to catch with a flasher. Buddy and I each kept over 40 on a bay in Lake George last Friday. You just keep moving around till you see fish on the flasher. Then you watch how they respond tp a lure and different jigging motion till you find what works

Offline prchslyr

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #10 on: Jan 22, 2019, 09:19 AM »
Fishing Lake George bays is probably the best suggestion here to cut to the chase and make it easy.
Find the clusters of dude's packed together. Approach with a smile and keep the same distance everyone else is keeping from each other. It may take a few holes to find one that produces every drop, but you absolutely will if you cut enough holes.
If an old dude sitting on a bucket seems nice. Talk to him. I've learned the most rubbing elbows in the big packs of perch fishermen fishing the common bays.
The angle of the dangle is directly proportionate to the heat of the beat.
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Offline Swinginhammers_and_fishin

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #11 on: Jan 23, 2019, 05:27 PM »
Like that idea...much along the lines with what I was thinking too.

Will definitely try this, in fact I’m going to head up Friday with my dad.  Is there any suggestions for access to some bays?  Feel free to pm.  My dad seems stuck on Dunham’s because back in the day a buddy of his hammered a bucket full of perch.  I didn’t think there’d be public access there though.

Thanks all

Offline Dsportman

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #12 on: Jan 23, 2019, 05:51 PM »
Not knocking the traditional flashers but Garmin makes a product called the striker 4. It’s a fish finder combined with a vertical sonar to see the fish. It has a traditional flasher option and gps mapping as well. The ice bundle comes all set for ice fishing. Cheaper than most flashers as well

Offline Mossy10

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #13 on: Jan 23, 2019, 06:00 PM »
Man I must really be old school. I can catch perch with a jigging pole and some jigs with plastic bodies. No fancy electronics. No disrespect but that's how I like it.

Offline wildlifer100

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #14 on: Jan 23, 2019, 08:35 PM »
Man I must really be old school. I can catch perch with a jigging pole and some jigs with plastic bodies. No fancy electronics. No disrespect but that's how I like it.

Mossy is right you don't need electronics to catch fish.  Almost everything can be caught on the bottom 12 inches with a few spikes, worms or other thing to bring scent.

electronics just make it easy to act at the right time

Offline jigshimmer

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #15 on: Jan 23, 2019, 10:51 PM »
the thing about a flasher is it lets you know if there are fish down there. so you can spend more of your time jigging where you have an audience. If they aint there your wasting time. They aren't always on the bottom. When your flasher shows fish four or so feet of bottom you know you have active feeding fish that probably will strike and you stop your drop at there level not continuing down to few inches off bottom.

Offline Adironzach

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #16 on: Jan 24, 2019, 12:48 AM »
Not knocking the traditional flashers but Garmin makes a product called the striker 4. It’s a fish finder combined with a vertical sonar to see the fish. It has a traditional flasher option and gps mapping as well. The ice bundle comes all set for ice fishing. Cheaper than most flashers as well

This was actually my intro flasher until i upgraded finally this year. I never ended up buying the ice transducer but instead attached the regular transducer to a "T" i made with pvc pipe. I have and 8" auger and the hole was large enough to jig in with the transducer in there still. Just pulled it out when i hooked up. It worked great for the price and i can definitely attribute an increase in my catch rate due to it.

Offline Swinginhammers_and_fishin

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #17 on: Feb 11, 2019, 05:31 PM »
Just to follow up on my thread here...

I took the advice of you guys and hit a bay on LG multiple times now, and also got the Garmin striker 4.  Wow, I’ve seen a huge difference and have gotten better with each trip.  Not lighting the world on fire but cleaning fish when I get home.

Even managed a bonus laker today.  Got a lesson in the fun they can be on a jigging rod.  Too small to keep but was super fun.

So thank you all.




Offline big_guy_13021

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #18 on: Feb 11, 2019, 06:15 PM »
I would suggest the Garmin striker 4 also the whole bundle is 167 northern Marine I like it over the flasher I like the straight line of a fish flying up to your jig it's awesome

Offline RyanW

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #19 on: Feb 11, 2019, 06:30 PM »
Would you look at that, another IceShanty success story!

Now that you have some sort of electronics, ice fishing will forever be different. Get ready to drill a lot more holes.  :tipup:
“When the fish are biting, it really doesn’t matter what you’re using. When the fish aren’t biting, it really doesn’t matter what you’re using” - Uncle Dave

Offline Rob W

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #20 on: Feb 11, 2019, 08:04 PM »
Flashers and sonar are all helpful (we use the lowrance out of the boat with a ice transducer) but what was a game changer is this:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Vexilar-FishPhone-Camera-System-FP100/34565606?athcpid=34565606&athpgid=athenaItemPage&athcgid=null&athznid=PWVAV&athieid=v0&athstid=CS020&athguid=156b1f99-c1c-168df607130b9a&athena=true

This lets you see whats happening, and see what they do when you present your bait.  Any camera system will make life a bunch easier, and it's a lot of fun watching them hit, get caught and be pulled up.  And you never know what you'll see.  We had a sheephead flip upside down to stir up the bottom, and a perch sleeping (I think) in front of the cam Sunday at Sodus

This is a screen capture from the camera from last Sunday.  Watched the one on the left grab the spike and brought him up





Offline perch chacer

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #21 on: Feb 13, 2019, 07:34 PM »

This lets you see whats happening, and see what they do when you present your bait.  Any camera system will make life a bunch easier, and it's a lot of fun watching them hit, get caught and be pulled up.  And you never know what you'll see.  We had a sheephead flip upside down to stir up the bottom, and a perch sleeping (I think) in front of the cam Sunday at Sodus

This is a screen capture from the camera from last Sunday.  Watched the one on the left grab the spike and brought him up

url=https://postimg.cc/2LVDkTvD](Image removed from quote.)[/url]
What depth do you lose visibility?  I hear from others that in deep water the cameras are useless or if there is a lot of snow on the ice so light doesn't get thur.  Is this true?

Offline PikeKing23

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #22 on: Feb 14, 2019, 02:29 PM »
There seems to be a lot of these cameras around now that send to your phone/tablet.  Has anybody thought about what happens when you upgrade your phone?  i know that after a while, an old phone will start to malfunction because the company has upgraded their operating system and it is no longer compatible with the old phone.  What happens when this unit has become obsolete due to operating system updates to your new phone.  i get a new phone every 2 years, but would expect to use an underwater camera for much longer.  Am I out in left field here?

Offline Fishmarket

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #23 on: Feb 14, 2019, 03:40 PM »
Would you look at that, another IceShanty success story!

Now that you have some sort of electronics, ice fishing will forever be different. Get ready to drill a lot more holes.  :tipup:

Love that comment.  That's what the site was intended for right
AM

Offline Rob W

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Re: Issues finding perch
« Reply #24 on: Feb 14, 2019, 07:21 PM »
This was at 30 feet,  plenty of light with the clear ice we had.  Last year the system switched to black and white because of low light conditions about the same spot with snow on the ice, but the camera does have a light on it if it's too dark, or if you want color images for recording.  The lens is pretty good at picking up light.  At 50', the full length of the cable, you usually need the light unless it's crystal clear ice and water. 

The water wolf camera for the boat has been good down to 90 in open water, unless the water is cloudy from a storm.

Never had an issue with the app working, had it for a few years now.  Just needs IOS 8 or higher

 



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