Perch depth

[iamsamuell3rd]

Hello all.  I am pretty new to ice fishing, been chasing perch alot this year.  We had some really good luck in December but the last couple weeks has been tough to find keeper size perch.  We get into a large number of tiny perch but only a small handful of decent sized ones.  I have 2 questions
1- are the bigger ones just in a different depth range?
2- will they be in similar depths in different bodies of water or does it change for each different lake?
I know these are total rookie questions I appreciate any feedback.  Thank you

[BigSage]

Drill lots of holes, and use your sonar if you have one.  Perch move around a ton.  You need to be mobile to find them.
I found lots of good perch on Sunday in 25-30 fow.   I drilled upwards of 40 holes.

[RuralMT]

FWIW, February is typically a tough month to fish, as most lakes are experiencing some degree of mid-winter doldrums.  But in the lakes I fish, perch tend to school up by size; if you're into the small ones, as BigSage suggested, move around a bit.  I wouldn't necessarily abandon the area, as there is likely a food source attracting the smaller perch and they themselves are a food item for the bigger perch.  Often, a small move of 10-15 yards can put you onto some bigger fish. 

2- will they be in similar depths in different bodies of water or does it change for each different lake?

In my experience, this can change dramatically between lakes.  For instance, on Lower Stillwater I generally find them in the 15-20 foot range, whereas on another lake (that shall not be named!) I ran into the jumbos around 50 feet, with nothing but dinks in the shallower depths.  However, as ice-out approaches, you can anticipate the schools to begin moving back into shallower water.

[GrizzFire]

Welcome to the sport! I have noticed the perch have more lethargic as well lately, so it’s not just you. What I tend to do when that occurs is to constantly change lures, and upsize if you run into smaller perch. I will usually run through about 10 lures on an average day in February or late January to see what exactly they like and how aggressive they get. For bigger perch, a Slab Rap 04 is perfect and consistently works for me. The key with the bigger perch is they will be in the same school, but the smaller perch get to a small jig before the bigger ones can. Hope this helps! Also, try to fish deeper if possible. If the lake is only 20 ft, go there. If deeper, 30-40 is money but I have caught perch even deeper. In 2018, I caught a ton of perch in 55ft on Ririe Res in ID and they were stacked at the bottom

[KatJohn7]

I drill holes tell I find them. Sometimes it takes 20 holes. Once I start getting them I will take ten paces and drill a hole. If it produces a few I will will walk ten paces in most directions and drill more holes. I will get a couple out of a hole then nothing. So I move to another hole and continue to repeat this and it works great for me. Have noticed that certain holes have smaller perch compared to others

[bigfishmt]

That is a great question I have seen much smaller perch my last several trips as well. I know they are more lethargic, but I am probably not mixing it up enough.

[Doeslayer]

In lake around here i find big perch succumb to a small minnow on a single hook... On a tipup or jaw jacker..... Or even a deadstick... Ive seen many jumbos split when i bounce a jig.... They didnt get to be a jumbo by eating jigs

[Cjaramillo6464]

Around my area I find that if they aren't biting on something within 15 minutes, I switch it up. Whether it be color, or lure, or both. Sometimes even switch up my jigging.... short and fast or long and slow.