Tip's for Ohio Perch Fishing!

Here you will find tips on OHIO Perch Fishing
written by the OHIO FISHERMAN who fish for them.

Article #1= Tips on Lake Erie Perch Fishing
Written by JV



Joined OHF : 04 Oct 2005
Location: NE Ohio

If you have never tried Perch fishing at Lake Erie you don't know what your missing.
The best part about perch fishing is, everyone aboard has equal chance to catch many many fish,
The biggest fish of the day could be caught by your 7 year old son, the Barbie rod & reel may catch
the most fish that day, and on a good day, nobody is counting!

It does not require expensive trolling rods, or casting lures with treble hooks, its more relaxed and
MY KIND OF FISHING. Its the kind of fishing where you sit back, kick your legs up and spend the day
being lazy. Its the perfect plan for fishing with the kids or your wife! If your catching fish,
LOTS of fish, everybody stays interested, and everybody has a good time.
Its as simple as pushing the button on your reel and reeling in fish when your
bait reaches the bottom. And it often just as fast as that!
You don't need a 30' boat and you don't need thousands of dollars for equipment.
In most cases you can fish Lake Erie for perch with the same equipment as you would in
your local inland lake. Just be sure before your trip that you check the near shore forecast
and choose your days wisely. Anything 2 ft or less is decent for perching in any size boat.
Also when launching from Ohio, any day you get a South wind , that's usually a sure bet the
lake will be calm just offshore.
Once I get to a place where perch are know to be caught, I look for the "Perch Pack"
That's the term for a congregation of boats fishing the same area, they can be just off
the beach in shallow water, or later in the summer, miles out in the lake far out on the horizon.
Usually in early spring, The Perch Pack will be close to shore,
sometimes SO close that people on the Break Walls are catching fish to.
Here is a good example of what a Perch Pack looks like out on the lake,
they can be small with only a few boats, or HUGE with lots of boats that stretch out for a mile,
which is usually a good sign of a bite.
No matter what port your launching at, there is probably an active perch bite somewhere nearby
Perch Pack
I also want to add, by no means do you have to join the perch pack,
I personally head out away from the pack for privacy, but I do fish the at the same depth
as the rest of the boats, because if there were not active perch at that depth,
then all the boats would not be sitting there. Often times perch can be caught miles out in the lake,
while some boats stay shallow and catch them also. But a good bet is to look for the Perch Pack.
Once you find a spot, I prefer to drop anchor, in Lake Erie you need to allow a lot more anchor line out,
so be prepared to anchor in 50+ feet of water if need be.
That means you need about 100' of rope, In the Central Basin that's a common depth to fish in summer.
Once your anchored your ready to fill your cooler with the best tasting fish in the sea.

I prefer live "Lake Shiners" for bait and with 2 people fishing you should purchase at
least 5 dozen, and you will run out! Also I wont buy "fatheads" from the bait shops when shiners are
hard to come by, sometimes when the perch are finicky they wont touch them,
it sometimes seems like everyone will be catching fish all around you, but your not catching any.
On another note, when the perch are in a frenzy, they will eat anything, including some things
I tried when I ran out of bait, these things include , salted shiners, tiny pieces of worm , spit up
minnows from other perch's belly, even perch eye balls from the cooler or belly meat strips cut
from other perch, sometimes no matter what you put down there you will be reeling it up with a
perch attached in a matter of seconds, another good tip is, when you notice your running low on minnows,
start cutting them in half. put a half of minnow on each hook on the rig, or smaller pieces if you want,
again, when they are biting they are biting.
Two Popular methods of catching perch at Lake Erie are the "perch spreader" and the "perch rig"

perch rig

I prefer the perch rig, and its readily available on probably every tackle store counter on our lake.
A lake Erie Perch Rig , similar to but larger than a "crappie rig"
But basically it's just a way to present more bait. A common occurrence on Lake Erie in is to
catch a "double" or 2 perch at once on the rig, or more exciting, a "triple" by catching 3.
The perch rigs are sold in all shapes and colors, with beads, blades, and fancy hooks.
But the bottom line for me is, if the perch are feeding, it does not matter how you get your
bait down there, they will eat it anyway. When using the perch rig, you may need to change
your weight according to the wind & waves. A good size weight is 3/4 oz.
So needing different weight in different conditions, a rig with a removable sinker appeals to me.
Also I think the colors GREEN or BLUE beads sometimes outshine the rest on Lake Erie.
You don't want to cast the rig as it will tangle, You want to drop it down to the bottom then reel in
the slack as if your trying to make your sinker "stand" on the lakes bottom.
You want your bait as vertical as you can keep it. This is why changing weights as necessary is
important. If you not getting any bites I like to Pump the rod real high in the air,
making my bait come up off the bottom 6-8 feet then slowly drop it back down.
Perch mostly take the bait at the bottom, but sometimes you will find them a few feet higher.
Once you get a bite, the fun begins.
On a good day, you can quickly fill your cooler with perch. In a matter of an hour or two,
you could catch your limit of 40 fish, Its nothing for a 3 or 4 guy team to limit out on perch each trip out.

Once I have achieved my perch limit, I then pursue bigger and better things,
like Steelhead , Walleye & Smallmouth Bass
Also another TIP I have that I am convinced that works, when anchored while perch fishing
and the action slows down, take one rod, and put a tiny lead jig on it, or any weight & hook and
attach a live shiner and cast AWAY from the boat as far as you could, then feed line by hand to allow
the bait to sink to the bottom as far away from the boat as you can, then slowly reel,
1 crank a minute back to the boat.
Conneaut Ohio Lake Erie JUMBO perch
Some of the BIGGEST JUMBOS I ever caught I caught with this method,
I remember thinking once, if the clear water revealed the boat to the bigger, smarter fish, and I started
casting away from the boat, next time your out try this for yourself!
Always prepare before hand for cleaning A LOT of fish after a perch trip to Lake Erie,
have lots of freezer space, lots of bags and containers and a sharp knife waiting at home,
You can easily fill your freezer in 1 or 2 visits to Lake Erie Perch fishing in any sized boat.
Again, choose a day where the lake is flat as glass. For some good discussion on perch fishing at Lake Erie,
or any questions about where & when to get in on the action, your welcome to join the discussion HERE
in the OHF Report & discussion forum Good Luck
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