Lesson learned

[ESOX FIX]

After 47 years of ice fishing ct waters I learned yesterday that perch eyes will catch any fish in the lake. I was extremely humbled watching 2 older anglers hook into trophy fish that wouldn’t fit through a 6 inch hole within 50 yards Of my setup. I will add these seasoned anglers had no electronics armed with 1 tip up, one dead stick, and one jig rod each set up within arms reach, along with a bag of froze perch eyes.

[hooks55]

thats all we ever use been ice fishing over 50yrs perch eyes on a #2 swedish pimple

[eiderz]

Many old timers swear by perch eyes. It's amazing how well they catch, I've watched guys bail panfish when everyone else got the skunk. Never seen them used for other than panfish, trout and walleyes though. Wait a minute, I'm an old timer! How come I don't use them?    DOH! 

[TheJigginJerk]

It’s nice to hear that it’s still possible to catch fish without the secret “system”

[lowaccord66]

Learn something new all the time Rich.  Why I love fishing.

[robertlbelrose]

My Grandfather taught me that many years ago, was a bit tough when I was 6 to pop the eye out of a fish but I got over it quick, lol

[Rooster18]

I’m starting to feel like I’m turning into an old timer myself.  Maybe in another year or two all I’ll need is a chisel to chip my hole, a bucket to hold my fish, and a couple of jigging poles...The crew that got me started back in the early 1980’s fished that way.  I remember them telling me to take the eye out of the perch and I would catch more fish.  Then again those same guys also used to catch Late Trout on Lakeville (Wononskopomuc Lake). They told me stories about using live suckers as bait fishing from a boat at night and catching monster lake trout.  This was back in the 1940’s and 1950’s well before I was born.

[robertlbelrose]

lol, I used a chisel yesterday for the holes I made, the chisel was made my my Great Grandfather... when the ice is thick you can use the chisel to make a live well next to a hole too :-) We used to catch good sized pike and walleye on the eyes too. We used to have our jigging sticks then set up holes with 'whips' ( small branches about 4 ft long with line tied to the end, the other end stuck in a chiseled hole in the ice. Good times!

[river_scum]

shouldnt be limited to just perch eye should it?  why wouldnt any fish eye work?

[robertlbelrose]

I've never tried myself but I don't see why not. We would usually start out with a piece of Coldcut to catch the first one, and it was always a perch, then stick your index finger in the perch's mouth to push the eye from the inside out enough to get the thumb under it.. I was never tempted to try it with a pike,lol

[Rooster18]

I remember those live wells chipped into the ice.  We used to fill them with pickerel back then because those guys ate them.  The again they kept and ate everything...I wish I still had the old chisel.  I remember the big brass knob on the end of it too.  Back then every fish caught was kept.  Those were good times!!!

[PerchMan45]

Never forget the first time I went ice fishing, my grandfather took his chainsaw out on the ice and just started going to town on the ice.

[Rooster18]

Your grandfather invented the power auger!  Have to use bunker oil in place of bar oil so the holes don’t get skunked up.  I might try a chainsaw with bunker oil next season!

Weren’t those days so much fun though?  The gear we have now is absolutely incredible but is it really better?  We caught just as many fish back then.  We caught just as many big fish too.  Now we just spend a lot more money to accomplish the same results, lol.

[Rooster18]

Bait was also $1.50 a dozen and you’d have to cut them off because they’d give you about 90 shiners!