How to locate perch

[crappiekid24]

How do I locate perch without a vexlar on a lake I have never fished?

[icejunky]

move, move, move....look for quick depth changes...like 40 feet to 20 feet not gradual foot at a time drops but quick or steep ones.

Another way is to cheat...follow the huts

[ice dawg]

I drill holes and use my Aqua Vu to fine them and follow them.

[ifishhi]

around here, just walk by some shacks...you'll find a pile or two

[holeinhide]

Perch like to graze along the bottom looking for shrimp and other small aquatic life. I have found that sand/mud flats in 12' to 30' depth range seem to always hold schools of perch, also along weed edges that but up against sand/mud flats. If there is a steep drop off near by so the fish can take cover than you just hit pay dirt......

[thin ice]

Anyone got any adive for fishing a large large flat like the Bay of Green Bay?

[vermonner]

I always seek out weeds close to a drop off
Asking the old salts never hurt either

[fishingking]

move, move, move....look for quick depth changes...like 40 feet to 20 feet not gradual foot at a time drops but quick or steep ones.

Another way is to cheat...follow the huts

WEll i always look for mud FLATS not big steep drops. But every lake is different. THey may be in the weeds, on weed edges, on the bottom of the drop, at the top of the drop, you just never know. MY best advice is too drill a ton of holes, explore and figure the lake out for yourself. I rarely follow other fisherman and almost always come off the lake with a bestter catch than most of the other fisherman. 90% of fisherman catch 10% of the fish and 10% of the fisherman catch 90% of the fish. Which group would you rather be in?? I can tell you what group some people on this site think they are in and what group they are actually in

[holeinhide]

Look for something on the flat to draw fish in like a weed edge, stumps, rock pile any place a fish can hide quickly and the perch should be close by.

[coldbum]

Jiggin or tippin?

[BlueDuck]

Fish close to the bottom...... 

[flockshot]

that sad part is on a big mud flat(like the one we fish on lake st.claire) it really changes day to day. we drill and move a ton...when you find them you will know..

[hardwaterhound]

How do I locate perch without a vexlar on a lake I have never fished?

Everyone has stated good info for you. Fishing a new lake can be difficult. Try and grab a map of it and find flats, dropoffs, points, submerged islands, etc. Some maps show bottom and type of weeds. Its hard to pinpoint WHERE the perch are going to be. They are nomads. They roam, and feed. They are also a schooling fish. If you catch one, chances are theres another close by. Ice junky said it right...."Move Move Move!" Ill start following the shoreline in say....8-10 FOW. Ill pick an area and drill 30 holes....some shallower some deeper. If I dont get a hit in 10 min, Im up and moveing.

Everything about mud flats is true. Perch love aquatic insects. Shrimp, snails, mussels, mayfly larve....They come in there to feed. Also they know they are at the bottom of the food chain....weeds are where they hide. I think thats one of the reasons why when you cut open a slob perch's belly, Ive found them full of baby bluegill. Cause thats where they are hideing too. Another thing Ive found true is fish by the bottom. Again, Perch are nomads...they roam and eat. As far as depth is concerned...Ive never patterned a depth they prefer. Ive had schools before in 2 FOW before where they were feeding off the runoff and Ive had schools in 30 FOW. So, again....MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!!

[Fishback]

My trick for locating perch is very simple. And it works for icefishing and summer fishing as well.

It first requires you to get in a certain mindframe.  Mine for example is as follows....."Man this spot is sweet. I'm gonna slay the (substitue your targeted species here; usually either largemouth or rainbows for me) today!!!" 

After getting all excited about your perfect spot. Go ahead and drop the bait/cast. Wait for second. And you should have a school of perch right beneath you, slowly depleting your bait reserves.

Perch know when you're hunting for something else. That's why you always seem to catch'em when you DON'T WANT TO!!! You wake up in the morning and get ready for a day of jigging for perch and get nothing. But when you scout a spot and do your homework. WHAM....PERCH HOLE!!!!!

[hardwaterhound]

Everyone on this post your gonna have to excuse fishback. Out here in New England, Yellow Perch are despised. They are Junk fish. Originally from Michigan.....Im keeping my mouth SHUT!!!

[Fishback]

hehehehehhe. Man those things get to me. It never fails. Ice fishing isnt exactly easy. There's alot of work involved so I get frustrated when I go out and only catch perch for an entire season! I think it was 2 seasons ago on Winnipesaukee, we put our bobhouse right on top of a perch mecca! Man that was frustrating! Every single flag was a perch.

[hardwaterhound]

lol....Fishback, I could teach you a TON! But understandable, here its trout and you have to use traps (tipups) for them.

[thorzep]

dude trash fish my a#$......perch are sweet, funny how one of the best eating fish is a trash fish.   oh wait there not

[hardwaterhound]

     Thanks Thor

[holeinhide]

hehehehehhe. Man those things get to me. It never fails. Ice fishing isnt exactly easy. There's alot of work involved so I get frustrated when I go out and only catch perch for an entire season! I think it was 2 seasons ago on Winnipesaukee, we put our bobhouse right on top of a perch mecca! Man that was frustrating! Every single flag was a perch.

Most of us would kill to find a perch mecca and the one guy who does not want to does.... ironic isn't it.

[taxi1]

I had a local guy here in Indiana bring in a couple of nice perch to mount. I asked him where he got them. He said, "you'd never believe it." I said, "try me." He said, "Moosehead Lake, Maine!"  He and his fiancee were on vacation up there. Funny thing is they couldn't stop catching them but got worried they could be over the limit. So they found someone and asked them what the limit was. The reply was something to the effect to please catch every last one of them with a few colorful expletives thrown in. 

I love perch too but they are murder on brook trout. It's a shame they are spreading to native brook trout waters. Brook trout have a hard time competing with them.

Funny how fish preferences change in different parts of the country. I know a taxidermist in Idaho that says people catch monster walleye and throw them up on the bank. I catch bluegills off the beds with a fly rod on vacation in Massachusetts with no competition.  Unbelievable.

[hardwaterhound]

Very true Tax. Interesting....I didnt know perch were murder on Brook Trout....explain please

[taxi1]

Very true Tax. Interesting....I didnt know perch were murder on Brook Trout....explain please

They just can't compete with the perch. Mainly they eat the same things and the perch are more prolific. If there is any reproduction of the brook trout the perch eat those too. In large lakes once the perch take hold it's impossible to eradicate them. I've even seen some lakes treated with rotenone and a few perch always survive.

[hardwaterhound]

hummmm, interesting. We have a lake out here thats a PREMO brook trout lake. Its huge, Deep, The bottom looks like an ekg reading and it holds SM, CP, BT,YP,BG. It is stocked with smelt. I wanted to ice fish it but found ya cant....alot of the Designated trout ponds/lakes are closed from Oct to April. I know theres some big perch in it from reading the bottom......Ill keep ya posted

[taxi1]

hummmm, interesting. We have a lake out here thats a PREMO brook trout lake. Its huge, Deep, The bottom looks like an ekg reading and it holds SM, CP, BT,YP,BG. It is stocked with smelt. I wanted to ice fish it but found ya cant....alot of the Designated trout ponds/lakes are closed from Oct to April. I know theres some big perch in it from reading the bottom......Ill keep ya posted

But it's planted annually with brook trout above fingerling size right? I'm talking about a natural fisheries that depends on natural reproduction of brook trout.

The following can give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/reg5/r5fish/adkfish.html

[ice dawg]

hehehehehhe. Man those things get to me. It never fails. Ice fishing isnt exactly easy. There's alot of work involved so I get frustrated when I go out and only catch perch for an entire season! I think it was 2 seasons ago on Winnipesaukee, we put our bobhouse right on top of a perch mecca! Man that was frustrating! Every single flag was a perch.

Just send all those nasty Yellow Perch to South Dakota. Probobly one of the best tasting fish there is. 

[hardwaterhound]

shhhhhhhhhhhhh dawg......Thats why this hound aint HOWLIN over here.... Now we just need ice

[hardwaterhound]

But it's planted annually with brook trout above fingerling size right? I'm talking about a natural fisheries that depends on natural reproduction of brook trout.

The following can give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/reg5/r5fish/adkfish.html

Yes its planted and as big as this place is, Im sure they reproduce as well. From what I hear theres 5 # Brookies

[perch-man]

I had a local guy here in Indiana bring in a couple of nice perch to mount. I asked him where he got them. He said, "you'd never believe it." I said, "try me." He said, "Moosehead Lake, Maine!"  He and his fiancee were on vacation up there. Funny thing is they couldn't stop catching them but got worried they could be over the limit. So they found someone and asked them what the limit was. The reply was something to the effect to please catch every last one of them with a few colorful expletives thrown in. 

I love perch too but they are murder on brook trout. It's a shame they are spreading to native brook trout waters. Brook trout have a hard time competing with them.

Funny how fish preferences change in different parts of the country. I know a taxidermist in Idaho that says people catch monster walleye and throw them up on the bank. I catch bluegills off the beds with a fly rod on vacation in Massachusetts with no competition.  Unbelievable.

I agree Taxidermist in our area Rainbows and Browns are mostly fished April 1 to May 14th when Walleye season reopens .They are kind of considered as a subspecies not chased that hard unless you fly fish and at this time in Canada the water usally hard till week before opening. 

[X-Rap]

Out here in Colorado the slimer trout are the coin of the realm with the state but imho the rank and file would rather catch warm water game fish. As you talk to guys on the ice they are all targeting perch.