Correct Perch Tactics?

[Big E]

First time percher...

BACKGROUND:  Three - four days of warm temps (40s) followed by a cold, cloudy day (20s) which is the day I fished.  Fished the same spot (20 FOW), jig, and bait that I've had sucess with weeks prior.  Was setup by 630 am.  Was marking fish.  Lake has been fishable for about a month but has received more fishing pressure in the new year.

PROBLEM:  Fish would not bite and seemed unaggressive.  Schools would come through and once in a while I would get a light strike but only one which I usually missed.  About every 4th school that would come through would have one light hit.  Schools were coming thru normally...about every 15 minutes.  Caught one perch at about 0730.

MY TACTICS:  Changed jig about 4 times.  First change was same jig & color but smaller hook.  Then to same jig but different color and back to original size hook.  Then the next two changes were to completely different jigs and colors.  Changed bait from red maggots to pinched minnow heads and then back to red maggots.  Moved shallower (15 FOW) but wasn't marking the schools anymore....Moved out to 25 FOW and started marking schools again.  Still no hits.  Changed back to original jig and bait and caught one at about 10:00.  Had a huge school come thru (10 foot deep school, Marcum was like a XMas tree) but not one single bite.

ASSOCIATED INFO:  Normal amount of bows were biting and caught.  Other perchers in area were also not having any luck...marking fish but no bites.

QUESTIONS:  Is there anything else that I could have done to increase my catch?  Does an increase in fishing pressure effect fish catching tactics (ie need to switch to different bait, jig, etc)?  Is it normal for one species to not be biting while another species is?

[vermonner]

it's always hard to say
Clear water?--maybe they're getting plenty of feed
muddy water?--maybe not seeing bait
sometimes i get skunked in productive spots and after changing tactics and try as i might, can't 'splain it.
not to sound like a smartass, but that's why they call it fishin and not catchin
next time you get skunked, think about work and remember how much better it is to be fishing and getting skunked  than being at work
hope it breaks soon

[Big E]

I hear ya...I still had a blast catching bows but was finding it hard to catch any small ones as we are only allowed one over 14" which I already had in the bucket.

It was just frustrating to be marking fish all day and not to be pulling any perch thru the hole.

[vermonner]

frustrating?
try no ice anywhere
maybe by this w/e or next
It's sad to be hoping in Jan.   

[SLAYERFISH]

Had the same thing happen here in CO. One week I hammered the perch, next week they would not bite. I had my Aqua-view camera watching them and they were extremely skittish. The slightest liggle of the bait would send them scurriing away. Tried everything but no luck.  Who knows why?

[whitey]

Perch seem to go blind sometimes. Maybe they fed enough the night before? Or maybe the barometer was not right, who knows. I know when I go after them, changing jigging action, and even sometimes changing to horizontal jigs, and hooking a minnow differently than normal gets there interest. Also, try tying on a lead depth finder to the end of your line. Put 2 dropper lines up from that with 2 different baits on them. Jig up and down, letting the lead weight slam the bottom a few times to stir it up. Perch are  bottom feeders, and this sometimes gets there attention that an easy meal is coming, or at least lures the school of them in to make your odds better.  Just a thought, and make sure the dropper trick is legal in your neck of the woods. 

[holeinhide]

I find that that is always the case on several lakes that I fish in NE PA. They are gin clear to 40' so the fish can see and so can I with the camera. When the (stocked) trout (bows and browns) get into a feeding frenzy the rest of the lake shuts down with the exception of the big guys (muskie, walleye, bass and pickerel.) The trout being stocked don't seem to follow the rules and just maraud around in big schools messing with every thing in their path. The perch, crappie, and gills being the same size as the trout 8" to 15" on average just seem to go into hiding until the trout move off, when this happens I switch to fishing for the big fish as they seem to start to show up on the camera and vex in response to the trout looking for an easy meal. This is my experience on just a few lakes and may be the case for you as well.

[PWR BAIT]

I have encountered the same thing on some body's of water. I usually try deadsticking with a minnow just above where the school is going through or being real aggressive when jigging.  sometimes when you hook a perch and your bringing it up the school will follow I'm sure allot of you have seen that the school will be right under the ice.I usually have another rod ready sometimes if you can get it down there quick enough you can get a few more fish.

[Van_Cleaver]

Ditto on the dead stick; I would have one out with two different jigs or lures set about a foot apart, if legal. Also did you try any plastics? Sometimes they are tired of seeing the same old baits. In the end you can change your jigging action, lures, baits, and tactics to no avail, on occasion. As stated above, perch can just shut down and you just have live with it. The next time there's a hot bite you'll value it all the more.

[JerryofWNY]

On a lake I fish the perch are almost that finicky and skittish. Any aggressive jigging or sudden movement sends them off in a hurry. I've seen it many times on the camera. I find that a tiny jig - size 18 - tipped with a single spike to be most effective for me. When I see fish on the electronics I lift ever so slooooooowwwwly. You would barely be able to see I was lifting it is so slow. Even then the bite is so light that a spring bobber is a must. I've found the Marmish setup to work best for me.

[hardwaterhound]

Could it be a spawning thing? I had a simalar prob as big E. A couple weeks ago I went out in the kyack, (because we have NO ICE here in the northeast), and I was in 50 fow. I marked a huge school of small to med all over the bottom. I figured, what the heck, and dropped my jig down there. As I watched my jig on my fishfinder, I was dead nuts in the middle of the school....it took me 15 min than I finally got one. It was a 7-8 in male.
All the fish on the fishfinder were the same size. I decided to move on. Now, 2 days prior, before a cold front moved in, I was out at the same lake and the fish were everywhere at every range it seemed and I did good in the shallows, catching some fat females. I understand baramtric pressure and the fish being agressive before the front but...could it be a spawning thing as well? Like all the males are grouped up and all the (ever elusive) Jumbos are grouped up going through a prespawn thing?

[sled-in]

You could try a lighter rod? last weekend my brother had a lite action rod and had one perch, I had a UL and did much better. I read an article once that fish bite the way they are fished, slow and small =non agressive bite, big and  flashy= agressive bite.

[percheyes42]

You could try a lighter rod? last weekend my brother had a lite action rod and had one perch, I had a UL and did much better. I read an article once that fish bite the way they are fished, slow and small =non agressive bite, big and  flashy= agressive bite.

I agree. I pretty much jig very aggressively no matter what the situation. I've tried other ways, but never really had any success. I fish a lake the is very tough to fish from time to time and the only way I can catch them is jigging aggressively. I just bounce the jig by twitching my wrist just enough to make the jig bounce, almost like dancing it. Alot of times you just feel something different while you're jigging. Set the hook.

[Swift]

SOMETIMES - 2 rods. 1 UL with a very small (horizontal) offering dead stick very close if not on bottom. 2'-3' away something raising havoc thumping/flashing on bottom. Local Perch seem curious to noise/flash but rarely take it, enough will slurp up the tidbit to make it worth trying. Camera surely helps but have had success with it for 30+yrs.