Big perch for bait on tip ups

[PaWhiskerWacker]

Yesterday I caught another decent perch with some serious teeth marks in it,  3rd one this year.  For the last two seasons I have hit nice perch with teeth marks, so last year I started using them on tippy's.  The lake I fish is just riddled with small perch but the jumbo's are few and far between.  I almost never see people keeping perch from this lake, more anglers concentrating on other species, cause most of the perch are dinks.  Where do all the big perch go...... my guess is alot of them become food for bigger fish.  I lost a nice fish a few days back with a perch on a tippy never got to see what it was.  My question is...... does anyone else ever have luck "Matching the hatch" like that or am I better off with just picking up some shiners at the local baitshop?   How do I attract fish to my perch, when there must be a million perch down there?  I use a treble on a black steel leader, a spinner above my leader with a small splitshot to weigh em down.  I range from 6" off the bottom to a few feet below the ice, but most of the time it is about half way down in the water column.  I know that the fish are eating these perch like a buffett, but fear I have no idea how to use a perch as bait to keep it looking natural but also attracting more attention than the other million perch down there.  Any tips would be truly respected.

[clhuff]

I would think if it was stunned or maybe even dead it would be an easier meal.  Or maybe just jig a dead one specially when a school is around because you know the predators are where the food is at or not far behind.

[Basspunker182]

I have done the same, I fish a local lake that is LOADED with shiner-sized perch. When jigging, every drop is a perch. So I have tried using them on my tip ups on numerous occasions, but have never caught anything on them. IMO I would stick with the shiners.

[Jason1817]

One time last year I was fishing open water off my boat using flat heads for walleye on a smal  jig head with a slip float in 30 foot of water.....the water was crystal clear, I could actually see walleye at the bottom....with that said I watch that little minnow elude several walleyes....the minnow would spiral up the water column....walleye would chase only so high off the bottom and give up....

Hmm....so I started clipping different fins on the minnow right before use....I caught several after the fin clip....

Try clipping 1-2 fins on your perch, it will look like an easy meal....

[Ice Junkie 76]

I few years back we fished a lake in northern PA. It was loaded with small perch and pike. We couldn't buy a hit on shiners but every drop you got a small perch on the jigging rods. I decide to put a perch on the tip ups and that changed everything. I couldn't keep the tip ups in the water after that. Ended up catching 6-8 pike and missed a few more. I think it make them an easier target for the bigger fish to zero in on. I would defiantly give it a try.

[butcher]

Dink perch (where legal) are my go-to tip-up bait for big fish of pretty much every species.  Bass, pickerel, pike, muskies, walleye, catfish... EVERYTHING eats perch!  Any perch I catch that is between 3" and 6" typically finds its way onto a quick strike rig on my tip ups.  Just remember to check the regulations on the body of water to make sure it is legal before using them for bait.  If you are fishing a panfish enhancement lake, all perch under 9" must be released immediately which means you cannot use a perch for bait unless it is 9" or more.  Further, each perch you take reduces your daily creel limit - even if you are using them for bait.  For example, if the creel limit is 20 and you use five perch for bait, you may only keep 15 more panfish that day.  Note that the creel limits for panfish of all species are combined for these special regulation lakes.       

Personally, I would not recommend using bigger perch (8+ inches) for bait unless you are pursuing very large predatory fish (pike, muskies, trophy pickerel).  Perch in the 4-6" range make excellent bait and have accounted for many of the largest fish I've caught through the ice on my tip ups.  In my experience, if you can "match the hatch" with native bait in any waterway, you will catch more fish than using store-bought bait like shiners.  Fish tend to be creatures of habit and will select for familiar forage over unfamiliar baits. 

As for the issue of why you are seeing so many dink perch and so few larger ones, the predatory fish are not likely the reason.  Even though large predators are capable of eating big perch, most of them are probably eating the smaller perch.  If you find a lake that is loaded with stunted perch, gills or any other fish species, the likely cause is a lack of forage.  In any habitat (aquatic or otherwise) there is a limited amount of forage that must be shared by the resident species.  For perch, that forage is typically insect larvae, minnows, juvenile fry and various other invertebrates.  If there is an over-abundance of perch in the lake you are fishing or if there simply are not enough prey items, those perch will be hyper-competing with each other for the available forage which means that each may get enough to minimally survive but very few will get enough food to achieve a large size.  If an animal does not have enough food to eat, it won't get big. 

If the goal for this lake it to produce larger perch, the answer is to introduce large, predatory fish that prey upon perch (pickerel, pike, muskies, bass, walleye, catfish, etc.).  The predatory fish will eat many of the smaller perch leaving more food for the ones that survive thus increasing the number of large fish in the lake.  The other option is to have fishermen harvest the smaller perch which effectively creates the same end result.  Fewer perch = more available forage for the surviving perch = bigger perch.  You may see your catch rate decline but the average size should increase over time.

All the more reason to keep some of those dink perch for bait in that lake... 

[PaWhiskerWacker]

Well said Butcher,  Good points!  There are plenty of big muskies in the lake I fish.  That is why I figured big bait= big fish.  Small perch are very skittish where bigger perch are kind of clumsy making them an easy meal compared to a small one??  Should I leave them down by the bottom with the rest of the perch or lift em up slightly for musky?  Most of the musky that come from my home lake are from 10ft of water.  Suspending a perch on a tippy half way in the water column may make the perch look funny??  I know that the fish are eating tons of perch in this lake, just how to fish em?

[frost]

Don't forget to use quick strike rigs for the toothy critters. It helps the bait lay right as well as give better hookups and keep the hooks (usually) out of the throat for clean releases. I use gills and perch all the time for bait and definitely notice a difference in hits compared to shiners or big chubs/suckers. I usually take a doz shiners, chubs/suckers with me to set the initial tipups then as I start catching the gills and perch putting them on as bait.

[butcher]

I definitely agree with Frost's recommendation for quick strike rigs with any large bait (5+ inches).  They keep the bait suspended horizontally, allow for better hooksets and greatly reduce the chances of gut hooking a fish. 

If I were targeting muskies with perch, I'd select for baits that are 6+ inches but don't worry about the skittish nature of smaller baits.  In my experience, skittish baits generally trigger more strikes than ones that are just hanging peacefully.  When a bait is acting erratically, it is basically signaling distress.  When a predator of any type senses a prey species is in distress it can trigger an attack response from the predator, even if the predator is not aggressively feeding.  I can remember numerous occasions where I've had muskies take a swipe at a largemouth that was struggling at the end of my line.  Generally speaking, members of the esox species don't eat bass because their short, wide profile makes them difficult to swallow.  Esox fish tend to select for long, narrow fish like perch, chubs and suckers.  The only reason they attack bass is because a bass that is struggling on the end of a line is in distress and therefore an easy target.  If that bass were swimming by leisurely, a musky, pike or pickerel would probably ignore it completely. 

Perch spend most of their lives hugging the bottom but that doesn't mean you need to present them that way to catch predatory fish.  When I am targeting esox fish, I like to suspend my baits higher in the water column so that they are more visible to passing fish.  If you are catching perch, chances are there are weedbeds nearby.  If that is the case, start by suspending a few baits just above the top of the weedline.  For example, if you are fishing in 15 FOW and the weeds grow 3 feet from the bottom, put a few baits at 10 feet which will put them a couple of feet above the weeds making them more visible.  I'd also set a few baits higher in the water column - maybe just 4-5 feet below the ice.  Again, the more visible the bait, the better your chances of getting a strike.

As I mentioned before, perch hug the bottom so if a predatory fish sees one hanging midway in the water column, it may signal that the perch is weak, injured or sick which just screams EASY MEAL!!!

[PaWhiskerWacker]

Thankyou all very much for all the input,  I am for sure going to try some different angles now.  Today I am going to clip some fins and place the a little higher off the bottom above the weed and hope!!!!  I found a very distinct edge where a point sticks way out and goes from 1.5 ft deep to 4.5 ft with some nice weed,  after 5 ft it just slowly tapers down to 8 pretty steady,and then tapers to deeper water.  Lots of sand and weed,  inside cuts and points.  Does this sound about right or should I be looking for more of a drop off,  I figured find the mass schools of perch and fish with perch near the schools.   If I go too far out I loose the schools of perch??

[butcher]

Sounds like a good setup whisker but remember that members of the esox family roam quite a bit so the more apparatus you have in the water, the better your odds of a hookup.  I would definitely stick to the edges of the weeds - especially near deeper water if you are targeting Esox.  You may want to set your tip ups every 50 feet or so along the break lines toward the deeper water.  If the water goes from 5 to 20 feet gradually, set up one near the 5 foot edge, 8ft, 12ft, etc...  If there are green weeds along those contours, that's even better but avoid areas with brown, decaying weeds.  Decaying plants deplete oxygen which tends to drive every type of fish off - both prey and predator. 

Keep in mind, predators usually go to the prey - not the other way around.  If you find the prey, the predators won't be far.  Just focus on the deepwater transition areas where the perch congregate and eventually you will find the predators.  Just be patient...

Good luck and let us know how you make out.  Stay on top!

[fishfever12]

I use tip ups quite a bit for pike and I agree with most of the posts above...but I would also put a flag or to inside a deep channel that is adjacent to the weed line....predators often patrol those areas too....I usually use some live bait (chubs/small perch) or some kind a deadbeat on my tip ups then see if the fish tell me what they prefer on that day...Then I will change my other flags to similar depth and bait and usually this triggers more flags...good luck....also another rip is if trying for musky they prefer larger profile baits like bluegills or small crappy more than traditional pike bait

[1MOFISH]

my brother and his friends would jig small perch and take them home and dye them blue and use them on the humps at wilhelm  it wasnt action they were lookin for but "1 flag away from the state record" they got huge bass up to 8lbs and got the black dacron snapped a few times.theyd jig and play chew can hockey to pass the time,ive used small perch and didnt do good but baby bluegills got slammmed by bass.
GOD BLESS
mo

[frost]

Like others have said set up at different levels in the water column, but don't be afraid to set high....Real high either. I've caught some of my biggest pike and skis with the bait set inches below the ice. Best pike to date through the ice is 38" and best ski is 47.5". Both were caught within 6" of the ice over 12' and 14' of water with weeds coming up 2-3'. Pike was on a 7" bluegill and the ski was on a 9" sucker.

[EssoxHunter]

Any type of quick strike rig...a hook in the tail and the head, black leaders are fine. The bigger the bait, the bigger the fish. Make some rigs with blades and/or glow beads or colored beads, orange is good. Or look to Northlandtackle.com, you can buy some good ones there.  The hook in each end of the bait is critical.

[PaWhiskerWacker]

Thanks for all the great tips!  I am setting some tippy's today using some of this great info.  I spend most of my time jigging but am in need of a change up, some flag action should do me......This thread is perfect for my area due to no baitshops within 20 miles are stocking any big bait, just small emeralds.

[Byron/PA]

I didn't read all the responses, so maybe this was already mentioned; Take a pair of scissors and cut off most of the tail of larger baitfish, bigger perch, bluegills, trout, etc. Doing that will make the bait "wounded" and will also help prevent false flags.

And yes, bigger perch make great big bass, big walleye and pike bait......

[EssoxHunter]

Thanks for all the great tips!  I am setting some tippy's today using some of this great info.  I spend most of my time jigging but am in need of a change up, some flag action should do me......This thread is perfect for my area due to no baitshops within 20 miles are stocking any big bait, just small emeralds.

dont leave us hang in' either Let us know how you do! The big bait line up for tomorrow is: 2 14" rainbows, 4 live perch 6-9", 4 dead perch, a live 12" sucker, and smelt...Tight Lines!

[ducksnbucks36]

dont leave us hang in' either Let us know how you do! The big bait line up for tomorrow is: 2 14" rainbows, 4 live perch 6-9", 4 dead perch, a live 12" sucker, and smelt...Tight Lines!

Too bad you cant get a 6-8" trout in PA.  I'd throw that down a hole in a heart beat for pike and muskis.