Plan B perch

Now my second plan for the day was to go after some perch. When warmwater bassin’ spots turn frigid there is one species that remains active. That species is the yellow perch. In a number of ponds across the Front Range these fish will be eager to take a lure. Yellow perch are not in their primetime form as of yet but will be in another month or two. Scouting things out know may help at that time.

For perch I like to use two different setups. A Carolina rig with a small dropshot hook (A small hook I carry with my bass gear.) and the other is a 1/32oz jig with a matching curly tail grub. Bright colors that can be easily seen work well for a fish that has a smaller mouth than bass. Both started getting bites right away.

(Above: Yellow Perch caught on Carolina rig.)

The jig was getting the bigger fish. When an active area was approached the jig would pick up scrappers that were a bit hardier in size and weight if only by a few ounces. The tactic was simple, cast out and let it drop. Once the lure hit the bottom the bites would either happen or not. The hook was set with a small snap and I would pull up another perch.

(Above: The jig was getting perch slightly bigger and slightly thicker.)

The largest perch were in the 8-inch range. The goal was to locate the larger fish in the 12-inch range if possible. I covered most of the lake catching a few dozen fish but the larger ones eluded me.

The rigs are nothing fancy but seriously downsized and not typical of my bass or even trout gear. The jig is small and just enough weight to cast. If fishing by shore you will need the 1/8oz. When the perch are too small for the 1/8oz (which was the case today) I size down to the 1/32oz.

The grubs are a mister twister “Lil-bit” grubs and the 1” works great for the 1/32 and the 2” will go with the larger sizes.

The Carolina rig is nothing more than an extremely downsized version of the bass rig. The drop shot hook is a smaller hook that I have on hand and the same grub for the jig works in this application. I like this rig for a matted bottom or when I need the bait to bounce a bit. The drop shot application is employed if I have a mossy bottom. In truth there are many different tactics for perch. In-Fisherman is an excellent source for perch tactics and a must read for perch aficionados.

Good luck and good fishing.