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YELLOW PERCH are a favorite species to catch ICE FISHING in ALBERTA and this is how you can catch some using your Jaw Jacker or Jigging.
Seems like people are always after perch. Especially since they are one of the only fish you can actually regularly retain for dinner in Alberta.
Turns out they taste amazing, too. Such small morsels of tasty white, flaky, firm meat. It's hard to beat for freshwater eating in these parts.
They are a little tedious to fillet, but certainly worth the efforts.
Many lakes in Alberta hold perch. Some have populations of mostly small fish. Others have some larger fish. The trick is locating them and then catching them.
Their diet in the lakes seems to dictate their behavior and where they like to live.
Some perch feast on aquatic insects like shrimp, blood worms, and water boatmen. These perch swim slow and grow fast. Usually, they're pretty docile and hard to convince to bite. Since they're used to eating insects, they have lot's of time to examine their meal. To make sure it looks just right before they bite.
For these perch, you better be using 3 to 5 mm tungsten jigs or some other tiny presentation.
These fish tend to roam wherever the food is. Can be shallow feeding on scuds and bugs or down deep in the basin eating blood worms.
Then there are the perch that tackle larger, faster food items. These perch are chasing minnows, crayfish, and other larger insects like dragonfly nymphs. Since these food sources require a more aggressive approach for the perch to catch these fish respond well to larger flashy presentations. Spoons work excellent. These fish are often found around structure and act more like walleye.
You will find them around humps, drop offs, points, rocks. Even in very shallow where they use the ice and bottom to trap their prey.
Two styles of perch that inhabit lakes in Alberta. Figure out what you're dealing with, and it will help you choose the right presentation.
