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Vermont => Ice Fishing Vermont => Topic started by: mudchuck on Feb 04, 2021, 08:50 AM
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Well, it's getting to be that time of the hard-water season where everyone starts asking about white perch, especially in St. Albans Bay.
I've nothing to update or inform on this subject and raise my hand to ask that very question: has anyone located white perch schools in the Lake Champlain basin or bays yet?
Would love to get on them...
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59 views and no one commenting so far, must be a sign no one is on them yet...
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Wondering the same thing Mudchuck. I cant wait to get into them. It should be a good year, considering the lower perch kill last season due to the ice melting off early last year. Thanks for opening the thread up!
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I have not caught any numbers of them yet, or heard of any one that has. Soon.
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We caught 4 or 5 off Georgia shore last week between 3 of us.
They were mixed in with the yellows.
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We caught 4 or 5 off Georgia shore last week between 3 of us.
They were mixed in with the yellows.
Depth, jig color, time of day...need details...
Thinking of trying Hathaway this weekend.
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Blue silver and orange.
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Blue silver and orange.
really helpful...
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No whites but a great day of nice big yellows in the inland sea. Plenty of ice and fish but not a good day weather wise.
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Anyone getting on them yet?
I tried Hathaway this past Saturday and only found small yellows.
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No whites but a great day of nice big yellows in the inland sea. Plenty of ice and fish but not a good day weather wise.
I’d like to fish out there but I’m sure you need an atv to get out there
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I’m guessing they’re somewhere between cow banks and saint Albans bay
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I got a few at Crown Point on Saturday.
They were in 20' of water
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Went for a drive this morning to see where people are fishing. Not many people out (weekday and cold), but saw a small group just outside the bay. Probably a quarter mile beyond the green can. Not saying what they were fishing for, but caught my interest. This is pretty much directly across from Georgia beach.
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Are people using atvs all over the bay and beyond?
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Are people using atvs all over the bay and beyond?
Probably. I was there last Saturday and 1 fella had an ATV out there.
10-12" thick ice now...
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Hopefully they’ll come in sometime soon they never showed up last year if I remember correctly.
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I don’t believe they are in the bay yet. There’s been a few iced in highgate springs but no real numbers I’ve seen. Usually around st pattys day is when they stack in Hathaway. I will post as soon as I find them.
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VTperchchaser, Your great perch pics show late March as the time to hammer the whites. This winter will be like last winter with an early ice out long before late march gets here ! :(
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Haven’t heard of any schools but there’s been a few strays caught at van Everest which isn’t far from the bay so they are starting to move. I may chase this week
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VTperchchaser, Your great perch pics show late March as the time to hammer the whites. This winter will be like last winter with an early ice out long before late march gets here ! :(
A buddy and I went looking for them around Hathaway via canoe and kayak one day right after ice-out last year, without so much as marking a thing. Went all over the usual hot spots. It's possible the canoe was scaring them out from under me, but I also didn't have any luck casting out with sink gear under bobbers so IDK.
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A buddy and I went looking for them around Hathaway via canoe and kayak one day right after ice-out last year, without so much as marking a thing. Went all over the usual hot spots. It's possible the canoe was scaring them out from under me, but I also didn't have any luck casting out with sink gear under bobbers so IDK.
:o WOW!
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They move into the bay further at ice out.
We found them in numbers over towards the mouth of the Lamoille opening of walleye season. It was a cold may last year.
There were a big crowd out between the can and Georgia shore side Saturday. Maybe they were getting into them.
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lots of people out yesterday south of the buoy more out towards Burton island . They were grouped up so I would assume white perch .
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Careful there’s a pressure crack forming near there, fresh snow might be hard seeing.
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I have yet to ice a white this year. Usually just prior to the schools coming in and taking over Hathaway you’ll get a few whites near burton island where the steep drops start. I’ve wanted to search a bit for them but the ice in that area is sketchy at best
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any signs of whites up that way yet? this day in 2018 they was in st.A pretty good,hope soon enough.
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Mid March, hopefully the weather cooperates.
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I fished west side of Burton’s Sunday in every depth of water and caught yellows everywhere but not one white. We were about a mile and a half out from the access at killkare. Hoping soon the whites come in. After the mass of trucks last weekend and now warmer weather I’m sure the ice won’t be ghat great in 2-3 weeks
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Lots people out there, anyone on them yet???
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Buddy went out yesterday and said he didn't find any.
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Anyone hunt those whites down with any success over the weekend?
Its coming. Might go to H.P. this weekend to run and gun to try and find them.
Any helpful info appreciated, and I will be sure to do the same when I get up there.
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Was out there Sunday, nada, not a single white, nothing but yellows...
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Was out there Sunday, nada, not a single white, nothing but yellows...
Damn. went through my dates of past photos and its typically first weekend of march when I begin to fill buckets. They gotta be right there
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Damn. went through my dates of past photos and its typically first weekend of march when I begin to fill buckets. They gotta be right there
I've gone thru my dates from last 10 years too, earliest was 2/13 & latest was 3/3 when they arrived at Hathaway area.
Only 1 white perch I've brought thru ice this season so far was a 5" down at Crown Point Bridge area.
By my recollection, it's this season & last year when they've not been around that area.
Either we've caught them all, or they've moved to other parts of the lake.
On another note, north of Burlington the yellows I've caught are loaded with alewives, south of Burlington they're full of smelt...also caught a few daytime down at Crown Point
I also caught a 5" smelt last Saturday while attempting to fish daytime in that brutal wind on Keller's, so appears smelt are coming back, not sure what to make of alewives right now.
Would be nice if UVM could get some data out to us on this.
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Most of the larger yellow perch I’ve caught in the northern part of Champlain are coughing up alewives and/or there stomachs are full of them.
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Ditto on the alewives and the yellows. I personally think it's been harder to find perch this year, and when I do they bite for a couple minutes then they're gone...I suspect they're chasing alewives all around like crazy. Just my own theory.
What does this mean for white perch? Dunno, but it sure seems things are changing.
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Haven’t heard anything about whites but going to check Saturday my self. Almost 50 deg weather forecasted for next week so if they aren’t in going to be sketchy ice when they do show up
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I happened to see a comment in another forum that someone found whites near burton island. I cant confirm the truth to it or what the numbers were if it were true, but just an observation worth sharing here.
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Would make sense. That’s where I found them first 2 years ago 3 days before they arrived by Hathaway
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Yeah must be getting close. What’s the other forum?
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Caught a single 8" white off VE least evening in 30FOW!
lost another at the hole that looked like maybe 10"
Didn't have anything but artificial minnows & spikes with me.
Caught it with a bunch of Yellows that are puking up alewives, so maybe use live minnows next time...
There there somewhere!
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Seems every season the schools coming into Saint Albans bay are less and less. They’re nowhere near as plentiful or abundant as they were 6-7 years ago.
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Caught a single 8" white off VE least evening in 30FOW!
lost another at the hole that looked like maybe 10"
Didn't have anything but artificial minnows & spikes with me.
Caught it with a bunch of Yellows that are puking up alewives, so maybe use live minnows next time...
There there somewhere!
Thanks for the report MC.
How much ice did you find along that stretch? Im curious because I am considering taking my sled up there for mobility to run and gun along that shoreline to try and locate them.
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Seems every season the schools coming into Saint Albans bay are less and less. They’re nowhere near as plentiful or abundant as they were 6-7 years ago.
I know they're supposed to be a fast growing species but...
That's because we've been hammering them for the last 11 years, so you gotta expect a decline in population when hoards of people are daily bringing off the ice hundred and hundred of pounds by the bucket & sled loads...
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Thanks for the report MC.
How much ice did you find along that stretch? Im curious because I am considering taking my sled up there for mobility to run and gun along that shoreline to try and locate them.
14"
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I used to fish white perch a little in the summer but i haven't since my father passed away over 10 years ago. I launch out of Hathaway Point a lot in the summer. up until about 4 years ago white pearch would be boiling on the surface the last 45 minutes before dark all over the bay and the inland sea. I can't say what has changed but I just have not seen that in the past 4 years or so. Something has certainly caused their numbers to decline and I highly doubt it's over fishing. I didn't see boils again last summer so I highly doubt there is going to be big schools of them before ice out.
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I’m ready!! Maybe I’ll go to ve this weekend. Is there slush? I went about a month ago now and got into the yellows pretty good. Everyone had a rainbow smelt in its mouth average of 3” in size. So maybe the smelt have left and the whites are coming in with the alewives. I run a 300 fourtrax with set up to carry all my gear and on the last trip I hit a few spots where I broke into the slush layer and I just hopped off and drove it right up out but pain in the ass. Went to carmi yesterday afternoon 3:30-6 and there was no slush! First time all year. Hoping the bay and Georgia side are froze tight too.
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I used to fish white perch a little in the summer but i haven't since my father passed away over 10 years ago. I launch out of Hathaway Point a lot in the summer. up until about 4 years ago white pearch would be boiling on the surface the last 45 minutes before dark all over the bay and the inland sea. I can't say what has changed but I just have not seen that in the past 4 years or so. Something has certainly caused their numbers to decline and I highly doubt it's over fishing. I didn't see boils again last summer so I highly doubt there is going to be big schools of them before ice out.
I've fished for them religiously for over a decade and caught hundreds of pounds of them almost every time I've gone out, and witness others do the same.
so simple math as an example of 75 people fishing at Hathaway Point alone, each taking an average of 3 five gallon buckets full of whites, with an approximate average weight of 33# per bucket equals about 99# per person daily, so take this (7,425#) and multiply it by say 7 days a week (51,975#) for 6 weeks on average (311,850#) and you'll see how exponentially the amount of draw down on a species has happened.
People have even bragged about taking upwards of 300# per person daily from off the ice in some instances so this just compounds the equation.
Feel free to check my math as I'm no MIT scholar...
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I am sure the walleye and walleye fisherman appreciate your guys effort to catch white perch.
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I am sure the walleye and walleye fisherman appreciate your guys effort to catch white perch.
Absolutely. Keep up the good work
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Absolutely. Keep up the good work
yes indeed, I've seen an improvement in eyes too.
even caught a couple daytime thru the ice at Hathaway over the past few years, this and smelt coming back are all good signs!
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Just doing my part lol I realy enjoy the fish frys with friends and family also. I’ve only started fishing for them 4 yrs ago and the ice melted early last yr. but the last yrs I make it a point to get out there at least 3-4 days and try to fill my original jet sled. 2 yrs ago the numbers of them were crazy and lots of realy big ones. Just like Avery other species of fish or animals. Their habits change based on Food and habitat. Tight lines my friends
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Anyone have a report on the white perch from the weekend? I couldnt make it up there to put on a search. I May take wednesday off to run up and hunt them down. Any updates appreciated!
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Buddy was out yesterday most of the day...didn't find any.
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Anyone have a report on the white perch from the weekend? I couldnt make it up there to put on a search. I May take wednesday off to run up and hunt them down. Any updates appreciated!
Fished VE most of the day Saturday, all big yellows. 33FOW all most from bottom, hammered minnows/crawlers.
Fished Sunday and was great weather/blue skies - almost got skunked...only managed 8 dinks.
Started at same holes from day before, went out to 45FOW, nothing, went further out to 88FOW and managed a few 50' down.
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Fished VE most of the day Saturday, all big yellows. 33FOW all most from bottom, hammered minnows/crawlers.
Fished Sunday and was great weather/blue skies - almost got skunked...only managed 8 dinks.
Started at same holes from day before, went out to 45FOW, nothing, went further out to 88FOW and managed a few 50' down.
No info on whites but I know the yellows are going into shallows to spawn, we caught big slabs in 8-15 feet of water on the Conn river last Sunday and 1-8 feet this AM.
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I was out off hathaways yesterday we had pretty steady action on yellows. Mostly dinks with a few slabs. One small white came through the hole at the end of the day. Maybe next weekend.
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Hope the ice holds up through this warm snap. Think the whites follow the yellows feeding on their eggs. Which explains why they don’t run up in the bay til the yellows are spawning
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Anyone try to find them off the sand shelf at the Alburg Dunes? I heard the stack in there but never tried it for myself. Also, I have always caught them at the mouth of otter Creek everytime I have fished there so im shocked they dont hold near Porter.
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I haven’t heard that. I will def be searching after ice out seeings I haven’t got them through the ice in three yrs now
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End of next week I’m guessing, more are being caught mixed in with the yellows. Just a guess.
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Any white s yet
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Anyone checked Hathaway/killkare for whites? Ice conditions? I’d like to go Sunday if I can still safely get on the ice
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20+ mph winds on Sunday make sure you anchor your but to the ice so you don’t get blown away rofl
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Yeah if the wind is blowing more than 5-10 at home I won’t be going. last time I fished the bay two yrs ago in high wind thought for sure I was going to be another statistic. I had a homemade fold down shanty. Plywood ends no floor and tarp for walls. I had it anchored to the ice on 4 corners and it held up but 50 mph gusts were scary. I caught 2 decent pike and one big one. It also rained for 3 hrs that day. Forecast only called for 10-15 mph wind and scattered snow showers lol tight lines my friends looks like the end is near😭
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I fished all over hathaways today and only found yellows, from the green can all the way to south end of burton island. ice was down to 9-10" not too many people out there today. ice is definitely going fast. starting to look like another year where the ice is gone before the whites come in.
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That was my fear. Kind of surprised they aren’t starting to stack in there now
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I wonder if they have changed their patterns or something? In the past they would be in there already.
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When they removed all the water chestnut or whatever milfoil a year or so ago it musta changed how they view the area... Where is the next biggest weedbed in 15-30'? My guess is the schools would stay broken up more of the West shore rd by all the private camp access. Gotta go a ways out to hit the depths but that's the only thing I can think that would explain the lack of numbers, so may be worth looking.
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I wonder how much of an impact all the alewives are having on that area? ???
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I feel like they follow the yellows into the bay. They love to eat their eggs. Song with walleye eggs. Did they do like the snow geese after being devastated several yrs in a row and just go somewhere safer? Yellows are just now spawning in the bay so makes sense the whites are just starting to show up here and there but maybe they are smarter than we give them credit for? Would be easier to figure out if we had 16” of ice still
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If the weather forecast is accurate, we may get one more weekend, hopefully
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A group of friends and I hit the bay hard Sunday 3/14. We fished from the point, almost to the can and spread out to fish our way south to burton island and back in depths from 17-45fow.
Zero whites. Not one. single. stray. white.
6,000 yellows ;D
Ice still looked good imo, but lacking in thickness. I measured 10" in most places with a few holes at 9" thickness
Shorelines are slightly breaking up and thinning. but still ok.
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Pretty much identical to what I found saturday.
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Hoping to get out there Saturday. 2 yrs ago I hit them middle of the week. Of course I was off from work for a month so was no problem.... stupid work and responsibilities
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They could be migrating to another area, 8-10 years ago we were catching them at cow banks.
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They are fairly established into South Bay now not the numbers you guys see up that way but they stay all year and get beat on just enough to stay weeded out in a way if no one fished it in winter they would take over
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Anyone been out to Hathaway recently? Curious is you can still get on the ice
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Guess some guys got em out on champlain by the green barrel on champ guess they got around 200 lbs of em saw the photos on fb
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Yup, they’re catching them, hope you guys get on em’
Just stay safe.
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Are guys talking about the green can off Hathaway?
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Yeah the ice looks like a old crapty honey comb lol. Think I’ll pass. Tight lines
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Same I’m not risking my life some fish good luck those that try it bring a PFD you’ll prob need it after this weekend
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I drove down there at noon today. Still about 8 people out from Hathaway point to the green can. Probably more earlier. Also drove by Popasquash and there were 6 or so people out there, some beyond the island.
I may try somewhere tomorrow morning, but not Lake Champlain. Too chicken.
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I see they’ve been found.
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Been out at hathaways since 7am. About 10 people out here now, no whites yet
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I was out there as well. Fished till about 11 and called it. Nothing but yellows nobody was getting whites anywhere
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Stayed till one, nothing but dink yellows. Thats it for me this year. Will hope for a better outcome next year
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I stayed until dark Yesterday. We found some in the evening.
I do not recommend walking out there after today. We left at dark, and the shorelines were junk, and I walked across an area that I could feel the ice sag under my feet. ice was very inconsistent toward the end of the day.
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are you matts buddy?
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are you matts buddy?
Yes....assuming you were asking me?
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Me and a handful of friends were out there late Friday. They were in thick all afternoon, and we probably iced about 450 pounds of them. Only a few other folks out there with us, but everyone was tearing into them! Several fish came in at over 14", and the average size was big. Didn't think the ice would even make it to Saturday, so sat the weekend out! Although I did hear there were a few caught Saturday, but they were spotty. Was starting to think the local population had been wiped out, but needless to say, I don't think that anymore. haha.
A few pics: https://imgur.com/a/9u23p9i
Stay safe if you venture out there, but I'd steer clear of the ice there at this point.
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Me and a handful of friends were out there late Friday. They were in thick all afternoon, and we probably iced about 450 pounds of them. Only a few other folks out there with us, but everyone was tearing into them! Several fish came in at over 14", and the average size was big. Didn't think the ice would even make it to Saturday, so sat the weekend out! Although I did hear there were a few caught Saturday, but they were spotty. Was starting to think the local population had been wiped out, but needless to say, I don't think that anymore. haha.
A few pics: https://imgur.com/a/9u23p9i
Stay safe if you venture out there, but I'd steer clear of the ice there at this point.
Nice Haul Weatherman! At least someone slammed them. Whenever I've been around traffic on the ice, only a couple times I've fished in the crowds (a few years ago) I haven't had much luck with them, they were always on the move, pluck a few and then gone. I have had them all to myself before where I've gotten about 140#'s of them. 22 gallons I believe it was, not fun dragging the one man pull over back to shore though, that was back when Martell still had the bait shop on Chubb Road.
Fun as hell to catch but I can't stand eating them.
Anyone ever try smoking the bigger ones?
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Yes....assuming you were asking me?
yes i was. had a feeling it was you.
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Nice haul on the whites !
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Me and a handful of friends were out there late Friday. They were in thick all afternoon, and we probably iced about 450 pounds of them. Only a few other folks out there with us, but everyone was tearing into them! Several fish came in at over 14", and the average size was big. Didn't think the ice would even make it to Saturday, so sat the weekend out! Although I did hear there were a few caught Saturday, but they were spotty. Was starting to think the local population had been wiped out, but needless to say, I don't think that anymore. haha.
A few pics: https://imgur.com/a/9u23p9i
Stay safe if you venture out there, but I'd steer clear of the ice there at this point.
. That's a view on my Helix I would love to see , Holy crap!
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what is a white perch ?
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what is a white perch ?
Very similar to a white bass. Its a schooling panfish. High meat yield for their size. wicked fun to catch. great to eat.
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I'm patient! First of May I will troll live shiners at Georgia shore.
Some salmon and browns but white perch will keep me busy.
Dick
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Nice Haul Weatherman! At least someone slammed them. Whenever I've been around traffic on the ice, only a couple times I've fished in the crowds (a few years ago) I haven't had much luck with them, they were always on the move, pluck a few and then gone. I have had them all to myself before where I've gotten about 140#'s of them. 22 gallons I believe it was, not fun dragging the one man pull over back to shore though, that was back when Martell still had the bait shop on Chubb Road.
Fun as hell to catch but I can't stand eating them.
Anyone ever try smoking the bigger ones?
Sorry for the late reply! Thanks! Yeah, definitely fun to catch, and if you were in Maine or New Hampshire, they'd be more sought after than yellow perch. I grew up in Maine and there, white perch were held in esteem, and yellows in contempt, to the point where you'd often see people just chucking yellows on the ice for the birds... Here it's the opposite. I find this funny. Both are good eating in my opinion. Pound for pound, I would say I prefer yellows over whites, flavor-wise, but the difference is small. Regardless, when you are icing whites by the bucketful, it's tough for me to justify going after yellows when I am trying to fill the freezer. Doesn't stop me though. haha. Whites run bigger as well, so you're talking less effort per pound of fillet, despite their tougher scales. Electric fillet knives are where it's at!
The fish in the purple bucket were mine, and though it took me like 5 hours to fillet and clean them all, I ended up with about 17 pounds of fillet. I ended up freezing them on cookie sheets, then putting them into vacuum bags. Half with a beer batter, and half with a hearty breadcrumb coating. Now whenever I want a fish sandwich, I can open a bag, throw a few into the deep fryer, and get fat. Haha.
I haven't tried smoking them, but I hear they are good that way. Smoking can make an old boot taste good, so I usually smoke lakers that way. I like to use cherry or apple wood, but I have also tried peach and maple.