Author Topic: artificial reef/structure for perch  (Read 5289 times)

Offline jiignut

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 357
artificial reef/structure for perch
« on: Feb 20, 2015, 12:09 PM »
Wondering if beneficial in this situation.
This is a shallow man-made lake. Say 60 acres. Its not bowl shaped, more like a pie tin with shallower sloping sides. And the expansive flat bottom is 10 feet everywhere. With a couple 11,12 foot areas, but action doesnt seem to differ in those slightly deeper spots.?. Some weeds around edges 4 to 6 feet. But the consistent flat bottom is featureless. All mud, sticky, and pock marked with those emerging bug holes. And thats where i get the perch bite but really have to keep moving for any numbers. I like that, but when i have guests we stay put and dont catch much at all. But of course fun is had. C&R only. Thinking of making a point of interest in the vast boring expanse for a destination fishing spot. Rock/stick pile hoping to have consistent bites. No crappies in lake. Perch/bluegills and and pesky jig stealing pickerel around weeds near perimeter. As far i can tell, forage like shad or any other schooling minnow things are nonexistent.
Besides bug muck, they have young of panfish in them.   So. My question finally.  Is structure out in the mostly bug eating waters going to be any benefit.  I would guess that it would work well at transition of weed/slope to flat, but seems boring. I like being out in the middle digging the scenery. My dream, walking out to a nondescript waypoint and having action. Would be great to have others know finally why i love this sh*t!  I DO HAVE PERMISSION. As long as I go low key and nothing too snaggy. There are others that can fish there. cheers

Offline jiignut

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 357
Re: artificial reef/structure for perch
« Reply #1 on: Feb 20, 2015, 05:38 PM »
Really surprised no one has experience or opinions on this.

Offline jiignut

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 357
Re: artificial reef/structure for perch
« Reply #2 on: Feb 20, 2015, 09:15 PM »
Geez, at least make sumthing up or something!

Offline Swift

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 2,728
Re: artificial reef/structure for perch
« Reply #3 on: Feb 20, 2015, 09:27 PM »
Easy now. Never seen Perch hang out around underwater structures much with a UW camera (old sunken shacks and such). They'll pass by on their rounds, look (sometimes) for an easy meal and then go about their business. Other pannies may use it but the quantity of predators cruising by or using it to ambush prey, on an otherwise vacant bottom, may limit it's use. Perch are going to feed on what and where they find it, they move and so should we

Offline EatenByLimestone

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 425
Re: artificial reef/structure for perch
« Reply #4 on: Mar 01, 2015, 08:01 PM »
I think they would hang around it, but not sure how much structure you could make without it becoming a hazard in 10 feet of water.  If the water level changes at all, even an old Christmas tree could be a hazard for a boat.

Offline Jigmup

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 4,317
Re: artificial reef/structure for perch
« Reply #5 on: Mar 03, 2015, 09:41 AM »
perch are a fish of flats...its that simple. Yes Bars and humps hold perch but on the flat portion. Breaks will not hold perch to feed. There may be exceptions but not many.

Structure may only hold them for a moment as they would most likely use this as a waypoint along their route but it would only be a landmark to them. This is just my opinion and others may disagree but I've fished for them for so long that it is my observation.
Never tell a fish where its supposed to be

Offline jiignut

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 357
Re: artificial reef/structure for perch
« Reply #6 on: Mar 05, 2015, 09:01 AM »
I'm going to give it a try. Nice pile in middle of buggy muck flat deepest section. Electric motors only lake. Yes, the perch are grazers, like deer. Deer wont stay at one food source very long, but they will keep it in their rounds. Perch dont  go and bed down to chew there cud but i can see them making frequent visits. I'll post updates.

Offline Stormcrow313

  • IceShanty Rookie
  • **
  • Posts: 20
Re: artificial reef/structure for perch
« Reply #7 on: Mar 09, 2017, 08:08 AM »
I know this is an old post, but I thought IŽll chip in anyway.

Here in sweden, we used to build something called `ris-vasarŽ, basically a structure made of thin logs pounded into the bottom in a square, filled with branches and weeded out saplings and the likes, weighted down with stones.

Very few does this anymore, but in the right lake its very effective. This was a common practice with loggers long ago, because it concentrated the fish population in othervise pretty sterile (as in lack of structures) lakes, and made for an easy source of protein during winter mostly.

They are also used as a method to increase fish population in lakes nowadays, as they are excellent places for fishfrys to find food, hide from predators etc

Here is a movie that shows how they are made, even if you cant understand swedish, its quite educational. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0QB5E-Oh5M

//Hans

Offline gooner

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 482
  • stay warm, safe and tight lines
Re: artificial reef/structure for perch
« Reply #8 on: Nov 15, 2017, 10:17 PM »
Ok I know this is an old post but I have bought a product called reel weeds... www.reelweeds.com check them out they have videos and such on the website.... I have them and I love them for perch
Tight lines and big fish

Offline UFCreel

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 1,557
Re: artificial reef/structure for perch
« Reply #9 on: Nov 18, 2017, 08:34 AM »
I have a friend that has a private lake. That has sharp rocky slopes around the edge of the lake and then is pan flat. The structure we added was 5 gallon buckets. We took the handles off of them, sanded them up a bit. Drilled holes and then put some rocks in them. We set them on the ice just before ice out. What we ended up with is a stump field in an otherwise structure less lake. Crappie, Bass and Bluegill are what we get out of that area. Sometimes Channel cats. Yes you can catch fish around the edges of this lake. You get a couple and then you have to wait for them to swim around the whole lake. It seems before catching anymore. Now with the stump field. You can cast to it. Or set up on the ice and always catch fish.
Flags up! Bobbers down!

Offline panfishman13

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 2,385
Re: artificial reef/structure for perch
« Reply #10 on: Nov 20, 2017, 11:25 PM »
you'd have to make the structure very large, more as an obstacle to direct fish in a certain direction than a place for them to hang out around. perch in winter prefer to school up and wander flats looking for food, so they're concentrated not by shelter, but by something that makes them turn and go a different direction.

in many of the lakes where i target perch, i'm looking at either the shape of the body of water itself, focusing on corners and points, or the edges of thick, expansive weedbeds. perch won't normally hang in the weedbeds, but they will hunt along the edges of them for minnows, crustaceans, and insects.

 



Iceshanty | MyFishFinder | MyHuntingForum
Contact | Disclaimer | Privacypolicy | Sponsor
© 1996- Iceshanty.com
All Rights Reserved.