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A few years ago we were pulling them off by the hundreds of pounds during the last week of March into the first week of April, from Hathaway point up to near the boat launch, close to shore. Not sure if they are changing their habits, or if we put a big dent in their population those years. Would be interesting to know if whites tend to spawn on the same areas they were born, like some fish. If so, the damage that was inflected a few years ago might explain this.
Last year was like that. There was probably over 1,000 pounds sold to bayside in a 3 day span between everyone.
According to a 1998 Field & Stream article, biologists estimated that ice fisherman caught 86,000 white perch the previous winter averaging 9” from the area off scotch bonnet, just north of button bay. Nothing like that there anymore. [/quotehardly ever safe ice in that area anymore mostly none at all . trolling that area at times cant keep the whites off the lures. not sure about the population increasing or decreasing but there are still plenty all the way down past the champlain bridge