Thread: Live bait or artificial lures?

I am been using both live bait and artificial lures for white perch for a while now. But i have just recently focused on fishing with live bait, when i say live bait i mean minnows and such. My theory on fishing with minnows is bigger fish will have a tendency to take minnows verses lures such as rooster tails. I feel that any size fish can take a rooster tail.

I am also curious on how other people fish for both white perch and ring(yellow) perch.

I fish yellow perch every fall/Winter run up the river the most effective and best method for me is to jig live minows off the bottom. My largest yellow perch is 2#s. Last year my buddy lost one at the boat that had to be a GA state record fish.

PerchSlayer, where are you fishing for them? I've had real good success in the summer using a beetle spin. The split tail black with 2 yellow stripes. Caught some nice raccoon perch with it too.

I've caught my biggest white perch on road runners. I've caught the most on minnows. Then again it may have been location and season.

IBFISHIN
I do alot of fishing in the creeks, mostly Rosier creek and Machadoc creek. Rosier is the main creek i fish in, which is real close to Colonial Beach, Va. about 5-10mins by boat.
I start fishing for perch in mid February, which is a little premature for their spawning period but the run is still good. I fish for them up to mid November.
I fish for these big boys by drifting minnows in the summer when i'm able to catch them in my cast nets. I use a bobber and a slipshot to give it a little weight. I fish in about 3-7feet of water.
I'm also a big fan of rooster tails, charteuse is one of my most effective colors. Rooster tails and artificial is my last resort however.

Has anyone ever used grubs or mini crankbaits for white perch. I have heard in the past by fellow bass fishermens that while out bass fishing they have actually ran into a few mix ups of perch. But i've never tried this before.

Whats the lastest months you have fished for white perch, I usually will fish for them up to mid November, and occasionaly I will go out to try my luck on a cold sunday afternoon when i have the fishing fever. Whats the best fishing techniques to use for winter white perch?

Originally Posted by PerchSlayer

Has anyone ever used grubs or mini crankbaits for white perch. I have heard in the past by fellow bass fishermens that while out bass fishing they have actually ran into a few mix ups of perch. But i've never tried this before.

No, but a little piece of bait shrimp on your beetle spin works good.

We used to fish twister tails for yellow perch in some of the lakes in the UP. On lake michigan it wasn't that unusual to see guys throwing smaller shad raps and getting a lot of yellow perch in the 12 inch range.

I can catch yellow perch on anything. It seems that the local lakes, ponds & streams are just packed with them. No matter what I'm fishing for, and what kind of bait I'm using, I can pretty much count on catching a few perch. Quite a few in many cases.

-S