Lake Morey or Fairlee perch?

[vermontice]

For you guys that fish in that area which of these lakes has the better perch fishing? Do either of these lakes have Carmi (10-13) size perch?
One more while i'm asking. Do you have any luck with trout in Lake Fairlee? I understand there are browns and rainbows in there.
I have never fished either lake summer or winter so any advice or info will be helpful.

[Strafford]

Both have nice perch in them.  I personally have not fished Morey through the ice but I have talked to people that have and they said if you can find them you could do really well.  We have caught perch most places we have fished on Fairlee as long as there are some weeds on the bottom.  We got a few on tip ups last year around a pound.  As for trout there were some real nice browns pulled out last year, some up to 5 lbs.  We don’t target them much but when we do its around the boat launch area in deeper water.

[rboot]

morey has amazing perch fishing, but you should bring as many people with you as you can as you will need to chase the school around if you are able to find them.

[MHC94]

Hit Morey Saturday for the last 3 1/2 hrs of daylight and caught 34 between three of us and they filled a five gallon bucket.  We didn't measure/weigh any but, I am positive we had some over 13"

[finnie]

My family has a cabin on lake fairlee and I have fished there for over 20 years. I have caught countless perch in the 10-13 inch range,  although in recent years i feel the average size has gone down.  I have yet to fish there thru the ice, but am going to make an attempt the last weekend in January.  What can i expect for ice thickness.  as of now i only have a hand auger, and if its much over 12" i will have to make other accommodations. My dad tells me it can get 2 feet thick.

[vermontice]

Hey guys, thanks for the info.
 
MHC94, if you read this could you let me know how thick the ice was Saturday.

Finnie, can't help you much with ice thickness at the end of Jan. just know we had 7 to 8" at Larrabees Point on Champlain on Sat. If Vermont weather is normal I would guess a foot would be easy by the end of the month.
Who knows a thaw and some rain could change everything, then we'll all be groaning.

[bencayer]

MCH94 were you catching those perch at the north or south end??

[Grnmtn]

south end of fairlee this weekend got run over by sleds... a lot of the lake for that matter. So it is a bit rough and the slush froze leaving the tracks and ruts. Saw some fishing activity around the camps. They still have the state launch roped off so no one is driving out there with vehicles yet.

I have had good luck on trout and perch in fairlee but the bite for perch is sporadic. Morey about ten years ago was a great perch fishery. It got hammered pretty hard for comercial fishing for the perch and while you can still find them it is nothing like the numbers of the past. Water there is getting gin clear as the milfoil eradication is making a difference. They did the chemical route and you really can see the difference. You do have to punch a few holes to find them and the roam pretty good now.

I live in Thetford.

[mroy44]

Is this fishing just like Carmi?

[MHC94]

We started at the girls camp on the west side of the lake and worked our way north.  Caught everything about 200 yards from the big white camp on the point before the north cove.  The ice varied from 4" near the shore to about 6" more in the middle.

[finnie]

thanks for the intel guys!