what perch eat ?

[spoonfed]

caught some nice slob perch and when i cleaned them they all had small gills in there bellies.yet i caught them on waxies fishing for gills in 6ft of water along a break.i figured they were crusin the break feeding.have not been able to find these dang things since.it was late feb. last year when i caught them.i tried shallow during first ice this year,notta.so i moved deeper steps at a time, tring different baits(minnie,waxies,wigglers,mousies)and lures.used everything from a swedish to a sm jig.notta .have tried at least 9 times this year.the lake is small and has two basins with a shallow narrow connecting them.i can cover the whole lake in 4 hours or so.
i have found the small ones lying on the bottom.they favored minnies.
so here is my questions.first- perch eat gills?  second what the am i doing wrong.any help?

max depth 26ft or so with sharp breaks and weeds to the breaks.spring fed.surround by woods.

thanks.

[Bluefinforme]

PM Billditrite......he is the perch king

[Jim111]

We often fish specifically for giant perch and in lakes such as you described, they are most always deep. We never get the giants while jigging though, always with tip-ups, fished with large live minnows set about 4-5 feet off bottom and they often hit very early, right at first light. It's usually all over for keeps by 10:00 AM. Our fish often average over 13 inches, by the way, and right up to 17-18 at times. Here's a couple photos to illustrate and not necessarily the biggest either..   -Jim

[fishnut]

The perch in the lake where I fish seem to feed on freshwater shrimp.  Funny how seasons where the perch fishing is slow, there are freshwater shrimp everyhwhere!

[reelbigfish]

Man those are some fat perch Jim111.  Nice to see your better half out enjoying
our sport.  WTG   I don't do too well on perch in the weeds Spoonfed.  I think they
perfer a hard sand bottom with sparse weed growth.  If your finding schools of dinks
in deeper water try fishing above these bottom huggers as bigger fish will rise and check out your offering.  I use 2 jigs in deep water about a foot apart.  Chartruse
seems to be the best color although I've done well on pink or silver.  I go with a
wiggler on the top hook and a minnow on the bottom one.  Perch seem to feed at
the same time everyday so see if you can establish a pattern.  Tight lines.



Ted

[crappie rob]

We get 'em in Lake Michigan, but rarely on Indiana inland waters!! Very nice perch!! Crappie Rob.

[spoonfed]

 jim--- how do you keep the pike from taking your tip up offerings.this lake has alot of them.ive read plenty here about tip ups for perch.what set-up is used.line,hook,a leader?

[jimski2]

I noticed crushed up mussels and shells disgorged from perch pulled up from deepwater last summer on Lake Erie. Apparently they are taking advantage of the zebra/ quagga mussel invasion and changing their diet. Maybe a piece of mussel meat on the hook will work. I don't know if that's legal.

[bigredonice]

It really depends on the water body, and location on that water body.  On one lake I fish, on one spot, the perch are stuffed with baby bluegills, while on another spot they are stuffed with bloodworms, while at yet another spot they are cramed full of sculpins and freshwater shrimp.  Overall, large perch definetly seem to prefer baby bluegills and freshwater shrimp...but I know in other areas, they prefer bloodworms.  It is definetly a local thing...however, I have not found any perch that will refuse a #12 green/chart marmooska or a small green spoon stuffed with maggots.

[crowkiller]

i prefer to use their own EYES on a tear drop jig

[taxi1]

We often fish specifically for giant perch and in lakes such as you described, they are most always deep. We never get the giants while jigging though, always with tip-ups, fished with large live minnows set about 4-5 feet off bottom and they often hit very early, right at first light. It's usually all over for keeps by 10:00 AM. Our fish often average over 13 inches, by the way, and right up to 17-18 at times. Here's a couple photos to illustrate and not necessarily the biggest either..   -Jim
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)

Got any pics of the 17 to 18 inchers? They had to weigh over three pounds at that length if they were prespawn females.

[crappieslayer22]

perch will eat alot of difrent things

[PondPro]

i like using spikes on a hail.

[FISHLIPS]

well here on lake champlain they like everything from shiners to snails in the shallows it is very hard to figure them out
but i do have an idea for you. try to find your local hatchery they usually know all the types of feed in the area you are fishing.also ask the different depths the bait is in
then try to match that with either live bait or jigs

[Van_Cleaver]

Perch are really opportunistic feeders, so they will feed on whatever major food source is available to them in your locale. Locally, they are usually full of pink worms or tiny gills. Some of the fish I caught further north were stuffed with crayfish. I still catch most all of my really nice fish on shiners, but will sometimes jig up 13'' fish. It's a lot more fun to nail them with a light stick! Also, they will hit a huge variety of jigs and lures as a result of their feeding habits. Maggots and waxies usually get my vote for tipping duties.

[holeinhide]

Most of the perch I have caught over the years have come from the 12 to 25 ft range with a hard sand or gravel bottom. I find that shiners work best for tip ups (med size) for jigging a red head with a white tail tipped with 3 nice fat spikes knocks them dead for me.

[jayswimmer09]

perch will change what they eat according to where they are in the lake what the temp is and the time of year

[SLAYERFISH]

I just caught a bunch of perch open water in 10 ft deep or so.  Their bellies were full of little perch!

[jimmygunns]

I've found just about everything in them, also including baby perch.  It all depends on what the body of water has to offer.  I've never tried the eyes yet, but I may have to give that a try.  Does anyone know if it is legal to use them in MN, WI, IL, or IN???