Author Topic: What do you think big perch prefer to eat? (Read 2576 times)

Adam.love05 · « **on:** Jan 19, 2019, 07:50 PM »

As I froze my ass off in my shanty today I was wondering what bigger perch prefer to eat.. Im going to keep this short and sweet and hopefully you guys can chime in.,

I noticed while,cleaning them tonight that most if not all the bigger perch had minnows in there stomach.. I couldn't tell what the smaller ones had because it was all digested into mush..

I usually try to fish where there are deep weeds, usually with a gradual slopes anywhere from 8' to maybe 30/35'. Not your usual mud flats that everyone recommends (never have much luck on flats)

I guess what I'm asking is if the fish I'm targeting are more keyed on minnows vs larvar/bloodworms or has anyone else noticed that the bigger one's key in better one minnows vs any other bait.. Please share your thoughts..

**Sorry this is all over the place.. Trying to wrangle a 6 month old while I type..

Hottuna5150 · « **Reply #1 on:** Jan 19, 2019, 08:05 PM »

If im setting traps I usually send down medium shiners for decent perch, though it’s amazing what small perch can fit in their mouths. When I’m jigging I usually fish real high off the schools. It seems that the largest in a school are more likely to chase a jig higher in the water column... at least that’s what I tell myself.

lingcod · « **Reply #2 on:** Jan 19, 2019, 09:40 PM »

I think that big perch prefer meat (aka minnows). But, lacking that, they’ll eat whatever protein is plentiful & available.

fishingidjit · « **Reply #3 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 04:37 AM »

Pinhead minnows on a swedish pimple work like a charm but then so do perch eyes and power eggs when they are hungry.

Leafmountain10 · « **Reply #4 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 07:04 AM »

Hands down Big Perch on big minnows. I caught 6-8 yesterday that were between 11"-13" all on live bait. Jigged all day and caught 40-50 this way all smaller maybe a few in the 10-11"

Always the same. I do remember years ago doing ok with big perch on jigs in Carmi.

Champlain Islander · « **Reply #5 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 07:12 AM »

Fish vary in their diet and big perch are the same. I know they love smelt minnows and normally when they are in the area the perch will hit a minnow imitating bibbit hard like the bloodline chartreuse white . Often perch eat snails and fresh water shrimp and when they are in those shallow areas something that is brown with some orange seems to work well. Perch in the inland sea get a diet of alewives so something looking like that is good. I live on the broad lake a couple miles north of the gut and a recent catch I had were loaded with baby bluegills which is very strange because my shoreline is deeper and more attractive to perch, bass and trout. My best catches of big fish come when they are spitting up minnows.

Fish Farmer · « **Reply #6 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 07:53 AM »

Quote from: Champlain Islander on Jan 20, 2019, 07:12 AM

I had were loaded with baby bluegills which is very strange because my shoreline is deeper and more attractive to perch, bass and trout. My best catches of big fish come when they are spitting up minnows.

Years ago I fished this little pond in CT which was loaded with 6 to 10" perch. On the good days they would come through the hole spitting up baby bluegills. It was a shallow weedy lake maybe 30 feet deep. We jigged them up with al's goldfish, pimples, and small kastmasters.

bradleyj · « **Reply #7 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 09:36 AM »

Hands down (at least for me) the best thing to tip a jig with to catch perch is a perch eye, and the best live bait to put on a tip-up to catch big perch is a small (3-4”) perch if you can find them. Perch are highly cannibalistic. Remember to count the baits in your limit though!

Adam.love05 · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 10:03 AM »

If I'm fishing for a meal I never use an entire pinhead or hunt.. I usually cut the head off and use that.. I bet when cutting bait, my catch rate is easily 2:1 if not more, heads vs tail.. I'm not sure why, I always figured,its because the fish tend to eat fish head first so they target the head vs the tail.. Could just be a confidence thing..

Now if I'm trying to go out and target jumbos, I am throwing on the whole bait and hanging on!!

Also, I hardly never use bibbits. I always fish some sort of spoon jig..
My goal is to gain confidence in a hali jig this year.. But that tiny hook always plays with my head! Its so small!

RyanW · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 10:11 AM »

Shrimp and minnows.

Light liner · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 10:28 AM »

Depends on many things.
What there feeding on
Depth
And if its weedy soft muddy bottom or rocky hard bottom.
Try to duplicate what theyre feeding on. Same as fly fishing or softwater fishing.
Dont be afraid to open up their bellys and see what its in it.

Champlain Islander · « **Reply #11 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 11:21 AM »

Quote from: Adam.love05 on Jan 20, 2019, 10:03 AM

Also, I hardly never use bibbits. I always fish some sort of spoon jig..
My goal is to gain confidence in a hali jig this year.. But that tiny hook always plays with my head! Its so small!

A great thing to do...get confidence in a particular way to fish. We all tend to shy away from something that we aren't practiced in. I will add the bibbits can put hundreds of fish in a sled. IMO the caught fish with bibbits tend to be bigger than when using bait. Hard to believe a chunk of painted lead with a hook and fished without any bait can attract a perch but they do. Barbless and you don't have to handle the fish so you can fish with gloves on and they just come unbuttoned when you dunk on the ice or in the bucket. Having a rod with sensitive tip is important though. Just another thing to try and once you get familiar with it and get confidence it will be another tool in your fishing box. Good luck with the hali. Great lures that catch everything.

Hottuna5150 · « **Reply #12 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 11:51 AM »

Quote from: Adam.love05 on Jan 20, 2019, 10:03 AM

If I'm fishing for a meal I never use an entire pinhead or hunt.. I usually cut the head off and use that.. I bet when cutting bait, my catch rate is easily 2:1 if not more, heads vs tail.. I'm not sure why, I always figured,its because the fish tend to eat fish head first so they target the head vs the tail.. Could just be a confidence thing..

I’ve found very similar results with smelt/shiner tips. Heads outfish tails. I figured the reflective nature of the eyes might be what makes the difference?

bootstrap · « **Reply #13 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 12:22 PM »

fish flavored cat food.

VTMatt · « **Reply #14 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 03:21 PM »

Rocky bottoms and they will eat zebra mussels. Most of the yellows along Maquam shore are packed with them. The big ones are always full of minnows of all kinds.

Iceassin · « **Reply #15 on:** Jan 20, 2019, 03:34 PM »

Wigglers ( mayfly larvae ) . Be prepared though. They are soft so if you didn't hook 'em on the first hit, might as well reel it up and rebait...it's gone. But they can be deadly...perch love 'em.

flagup! · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 23, 2019, 09:01 AM »

Just about anything smaller than they are...

mudchuck · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 23, 2019, 11:14 AM »

perch eyes.

yellow perch really aren't that picky.

stick eyes · « **Reply #18 on:** Jan 23, 2019, 07:32 PM »

I use a eye on a jig..or sometimes just a eye...like mudchuck said they are not that picky . But get best results on a good old worm.

Adam.love05 · « **Reply #19 on:** Jan 23, 2019, 07:41 PM »

I've never tried worms., makes perfect sense, and definitely cheaper than minnows!

Bigunit · « **Reply #20 on:** Jan 28, 2019, 04:46 PM »

This year it's hard to get them bite, period!

Champlain Islander · « **Reply #21 on:** Jan 28, 2019, 05:12 PM »

Really. Biting pretty good up my way.

Adam.love05 · « **Reply #22 on:** Jan 28, 2019, 06:18 PM »

We have had good luck this year as well.. Except today.. Today I froze my ass off for 9 keepers in 3 hours.. But it was better than working!

Champlain Islander · « **Reply #23 on:** Jan 28, 2019, 06:42 PM »

It was brutally cold for sure. I trailered my wheeler to a spot in Grand Isle and got set up for perch and a friend called from another place and said his wheeler was broken down. I went to that place and towed him off the ice and helped him get his wheeler into the back of his truck. Since my wheeler was already on the ice I figured I might as well try it. I hit a big school of large perch and had a decent day.

Adam.love05 · « **Reply #24 on:** Jan 29, 2019, 04:22 AM »

Nice! Good deeds pay off!

That's the tough part about fishing Champlain.. There is always wind! So when you have Single digit days with 10-15 mph winds.. It'll make that little buddy heater feel undersized big time!

Champlain Islander · « **Reply #25 on:** Jan 29, 2019, 05:49 PM »

I was out side both yesterday and today and did good both days. I did use my wheeler for a wind break though. I do have a fish trap but generally unless it is real cold I leave it home.

staggerin · « **Reply #26 on:** Jan 29, 2019, 09:22 PM »

Look at the size of the perch mouth. I've seen big perch with small months that would only bite spikes . Perch with bigger mouths eat minnows. You can see it on the small ones too. I guess it depends on the body of water and the fish needing to adapt to the forage

Champlain Islander · « **Reply #27 on:** Jan 30, 2019, 02:59 PM »

Wind chill like that I stay home. I can fish every day all year so if I miss a bad weather day now and then it is OK.

Champlain Islander · « **Reply #28 on:** Jan 30, 2019, 03:42 PM »

It is a good life when you can fish alot.

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Author Topic: What do you think big perch prefer to eat? (Read 2576 times)