Jumbo perch -- we got a mess of 'em

[ducktrapper]

Fished all day Friday with cranks on the east side rocks. Got 4 northerns, 3 smallies, 1 walleye and even a sucker. But the big news was the perch -- 4 of us kept 50 dandies and lost another dozen at the net. These were nice fish -- all 10 inches and better. We also threw back at least that many smaller fish -- every size from 4 inches all the way up to keeper size.

Pretty sure they are eating the crawfish, which seem to be really abundant this year. The rock piles were crawling with them and some of the perch gullets had crawfish pieces in them. Our best crankbaits were of various crawfish colors.

Where the heck have all these perch been the last couple years? Especially the 5 inchers -- by all rights those were supposed to have been completely eaten last summer. Is the lake suddenly full of perch again -- a "miracle"? Or are all the fish in the whole entire lake congregating in tiny spots that I just happen to be fishing? I'm hearing other reports of lots of perch showing up on rockpiles all over the lake...

[Rick]

All right ducktrapper,
that's encouraging to hear!!

What type of cranks were you using and how deep are the perch??

[ducktrapper]

Small "chubby" jointed Rapalas -- not sure of the proper model name. Any color of crayfish.

Perch were in water anywhere between 10 and 18 feet deep. Related to, or on, the rockpiles.

We were using 6# test and not letting all that much line out. Maybe 30 yards or so. I would guess we were within 3 feet of the bottom at all times, ticking the rocks occaisionaly. The fish were really smacking the lures. Fishing was good all day, best at high noon with the sun beating down!

[Mykal]

I can attest to that. Got 6 perch by accident fishing smallies on Saturday. It's a #5 crayfish pattern, jointed shad rap. When the wind is blowing the smallies like it too.

[Rick]

Did the perch look healthy to you guys?

Don't you think it's great getting those bonus fish when the walleyes aren't cooperating?

10" perch are respectable perch for sure.

Any 12" - 14" perch coming in?

[ducktrapper]

The perch looked real healthy. Nice bright colors, good fighters. Only a couple had yellow grubs and it was just one or two grubs per fish, not an infestation. Not that I have that much to compare these fish to -- this is usually the time of year I catch the least amount of perch. Can't say I have ever caught this many combined in August, let alone in one trip.

There were no real hogs in the pile, a couple may have been 12 inchers, but none were 14. The other guys in the boat said they have been getting one or two of the real big ones on each trip, so they are out there.

I love getting those 12-14 inchers through the ice -- they look so awesome coming through the hole with that big egg belly and spewing mayfly larvae with every flop!

[GEO]

Same thing happened to me 3 yrs ago. We went out on a launch the last weekend in August and caught 50 or so jumbo perch on the rocks in about 8 ft of water.

[Scott Steil]

The perch bite has actually been very consistant all year. Much more then any other species. Yes, the perch are becoming very active on the rocks as usual, but the bite had been very good on the weed edges all year long.

The size has been very good with 10-12 inchers being pretty common. The fish look healthy and the population is actually pretty good. It is amazing what you can see on the weeds edges with an underwater camera. You would not believe the numbers of YOY perch this year. It is just as strong as last years class. Both very good hatches.

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www.millelacsguideservice.com

[ducktrapper]

So I have to ask again -- where were all these perch last year? Launches went the whole summer without catching a perch. Ice fishers with cameras spent hours looking at empty screens. I didn't catch a single perch the last two springs while slip bobbering on the rocks.

Not that I am complaining about the prospects for a comeback, the question just intrigues me. Where were they hiding?

[Guest]

I keep asking myself the same thing. My only conclusion is the Walleye bite was so concentrated and strong last year, that it forced whatever Perch that were left in those areas to spread out to the point that they couldn't school up thus making them less likely to connect with a steady food source. Most of the bigger Perch are feeding on the same food source as Walleyes. Crawfish,Trout Perch,Shiner minnows and Perch and Walleye fry.
Once the bait fish populations rebounded this year, it allowed for Walleyes to stay and feed on specific spots thus keeping them from crashing into Perch populations to feed and causing the Perch schools to spook and spread out. A good example this year was a shoreline on the SW side that was loaded with Walleyes for two months last year. They were thick along a 1/4 mile stretch along the shoreline in 18-22 feet. We didn't catch one Perch there last year at all, not even a bait thief bite. This year, from opening day to the middle of June, two Walleyes, and lots of nice Perch.

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
651-271-5459
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[Mykal]

I hope this is a sign tht we will have a few to catch through the ice this year and not just a fluke.

[Guest]

DuckTrapper,Judging from your previous posts you probably like to fish jumbos as much as I do. Will be up at Kewaunee this week fishing salmon. Drop me an E-mail when you got a minute and we can share perch strategies.Talk to you soon! Jim

[ducktrapper]

Hey perchsearcher,

Sorry I did not respond sooner. I had not looked at the Mille Lacs forum page for about a week as it looked like my perch thread had died down.

So you are a Chief Engineer -- me too!

So you like to go to Keewaunee -- me too! We were just there in late July.

You were correct in your deduction that I love to fish big perch on Mille Lacs. I like them more than walleyes, because you can usually bring home enough for a meal! I love fishing them out in the deep water in February. The sight of those big hawgs coming through the hole. The feel when you set the hook on the "set-line" and the fish doesn't move at all -- feels like a walleye at first, then you know it is a big one. Watching them come up the hole -- you can see them about 15 feet down when you are cranking.

I'd be happy to talk strategies and favorite lures. I mainly target them when ice fishing. My open water catches are more by accident when walleye fishing!

I'd love to talk strategy. My e-mail is [email protected]

Hope to hear from you soon!

[Andrewsdad]

Someone in a previous reply mentioned something about grubs in the perch. What is up with that? Are you talking the little black dots? I don't have a problem with those but he said something about yellow grubs. What do you need to do with the perch before you can eat them? This sounds pretty disguisting to me. We caught some up at Cutfoot Sioux one year that had what looked like grubs in the meat. I ended up throwing those away. What are your thoughts?

[ducktrapper]

Mille Lacs perch in general don't have the grub problem that other lakes do. I think the post was referring to the little yellow grubs that are buried in the flesh of the perch. If it's just one or two grubs, I dig 'em out with the tip of the fillet knife. If there is more than a few, I just make sure I use extra breading on that fillet when I fry it! No one will know the difference and the grubs won't hurt you.

[HT byten]

the last few years while bass fishing in shallow weeds and rocks i was seeing zillions
of little perch. this year i havn't seen nearly as many.

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see ya