Perch expert? Well, it's a species I love to target, and have loved to target since I was a kid. On my best day earlier this year, I had 245 yellow perch through the hole (I kept 6 for the skillet), and over course of the season I counted twelve 15-inchers, the largest was 15.5". I grew up ice fishing in Sweden, so a lot of the stuff I do and use sounds like ludicrous unorthodoxies to ice fishermen in North America
I'll let you judge for yourself.
In my experience - and I almost never use any kind of bait, though I find maggots effective - the key to catching really finicky perch is to make sure there is sufficient distance between the jig and the hook. You can achieve this by a 3-5" long mono/flouro leader under the jig (which in my case often is a vertical, handmade spoon-like jig). Without a baited hook, I also jig it a little differently compared to how most people jig a baited hook. The latter tends to fish well with only smaller vibrations and the occasional jerk to bring fish in. An alternative to the mono leader is a super thin hook chain (pictured) or a "pang-link" (also pictured). The advantage with these compared to having the hook attached right at the bottom of the jig is that they allow the hook to move easily into the mouth of the perch when they "suck' it in.
I will always start with a horizontal jig (for aggressive, big perch). If they're not actively hunting, I'll choose a vertical jig with a chain or pang-link. If I know there's perch around my vertical jig, but they're really careful around it, I'll use the vertical jig with a leader underneath.
A single epoxy hook, or a Russian style mormyska (pictured on the left) work great on a leader. The chenille / epoxy treble hooks are dynamite (pictured). I have found that darker colors are better in clear lakes and the more colorful ones in murkier ones. Hardly rocket science.
Some additional context for my hook distance argument: As underwater footage of perch jigging shows, the perch rarely go for the entire jig, unless it's a horizontal jig and they're aggressively hunting. Rather, they target the hook directly (baited or artificial). Contrary to popular belief, the vertical jig is merely perceived as a competitor for food - not as the actual prey/target. This becomes even more evident when the hook is attached to a leader or chain.
