Perch, Perch, and more Perch

**wicklundrh** · 03-30-2018, 07:39 PM

Steve, Dad, and I left the house just before 5:30 am to make the 2hr drive to Muskegon. We stopped for fuel and shortly before Portland there was a dual consensus between the two copilots about stopping to tour the roadside rest stop. Someone quickly dominated it and left. Unfortunately we didn't see any Lot Lizards!

At the bait shop a little after 7:30 for 10,000 minnows and enough wigglers to completely mess up three full sized semi trucks if they were to hatch in May. One gentleman commented on the amount of people at the shop followed by: "did you hear about the fishing on Facebook"? What's Facebook was my reply.

At the launch around 8 am and we took our sweet time getting ready. Perch fishing isn't supposed to be taxing! It was a cold 29 degrees when I stood on the asphalt in my socks and underwear. I had to put my long jons on.

By the time we arrived at the sand docks, there was probably 25 boats already fishing. I used down image and sonar to find a decent pod and we went to work. Wigglers were good early on but died off quickly. Minnows came on strong though tipping them on our Ron Spring's rigs. Chartreuse with pink was the best color pattern.

Sometimes your would catch 20 before a keeper. Other times you would get 5 in a row that went in the box.

Perch fishing is my favorite. You sit, relax, talk, rib each other, and enjoy catching the best tasting fish on the planet. It reminds me of fishing as a child with my grandfathers.

In the end it would be safe to say we boated between 275 and 325 fish. We thankfully only kept 78. This would be the reason why I didn't puck Steve up on the way! He could sneak out of cleaning duties!

A photo of a few fish. Steve can add more when he gets home. What a great day.

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**skillett007** · 03-30-2018, 07:49 PM

Nice catching you three amigos!!!!

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**OneidaEagle** · 03-30-2018, 08:09 PM

Larry, Curly & Moe......

**OneidaEagle** · 03-30-2018, 08:09 PM

I was @ Muskegon today also, but for new T handles for the truck topper.

**OneidaEagle** · 03-30-2018, 10:03 PM

Rich,

While I think about it, what makes Perch favored over, say Walleye in your opinion?

Aren’t the of the same family of sorts?

**Just Steve** · 03-31-2018, 05:14 AM

I got a text message from Rich at around 2:00 Thursday afternoon which simply said “Perch fishing tomorrow are you in?” Well I knew what the answer was going to be, but like everything I’ve done in 39 years of wedded bliss....was to clear it with my social director.

The simple word “Perch” was as far as I got and she said GO! We both love a perch fry, there’s nothing better tasting in our opinion than fresh perch, so I told Rich I would be joining them and got my gear together for a early morning (4:15) departure from home.

Everything went as Rich described above with a few extra antics he didn’t mention, such as small fish whizzing past your head on their way back into their 40 feet deep homes, in fact Dale said one hit him in the back of the head on its way home, and I think I got paid back for a frisbee style toss I did last fall. More than a few stories were told, including what the hoodie of a parka can be used for, Dales definition of stomach cramps and what that leads to......

The day was a complete success, a great day on the water with good people, a new learned technique, and more than enough of those wonderful tasting lake perch for a fish fry!

I do apologize I didn’t take many pictures but I will share what I did take.

Boat traffic and a couple bundled up fishermen.

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**spartannation** · 03-31-2018, 05:39 AM

Nice. I'll have to do that when I get back.

**"G"** · 03-31-2018, 08:06 AM

Great report guys...i know you had a blast

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**wicklundrh** · 03-31-2018, 11:26 AM

I think that every fish cleaned except for 3 were females.

For years, perch fishing has been in the toilet. It is steadily coming back.

For me, I scale all the perch which leaves the skin on, adds flavor, saves meat, and makes them fry better. In canada, the small walleye taste the same. Here in Michigan, you cannot keep those small fish. The bigger ones have a dark layer between the meat and skin which makes them not good to scale and eat. Filleting off the skin removes the dark meat. Those thin perch fillets seem to fry much quicker, are way thinner, and tend not to hold grease. I bake, broil, or grill most of my walleye however Kevin is the master at frying them and also has an awesome blackened recipe that I want to try again.

Jimmy taught me a mustard base that was out of this world, and we also experimented with a hot sauce buffalo style that was great. With perch, I keep it simple.

I remember later that sitting on that cooler was stupid. And to think, I had my other seat in the boat. Oh well, my back is already screwed

**Crappie Pro Wannabe** · 03-31-2018, 11:35 AM

Great post and pictures.

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