Thread: Perch Fishing in The Winter

I haven't done any fishing for perch in the winter but I thought I would
give it a try this winter. My question is do perch bite very good in the
winter and what types of live baits works good for perch ?

We use minnows for yellow perch around here. Feb is spawning time.

I think they bite better in the winter then they do in the summer... We ice fish them with a glow hook and a maggot. Just off the bottom.

Ice fishing is supposed to be very good for perch. Small jigging spoons, jigging rapalas tipped with maggots work good. I like the northland forage minnow.

Hey Bill.
Do you fish your minnows on the bottom?
Brian

Originally Posted by freeflow_23

Hey Bill.
Do you fish your minnows on the bottom?
Brian

Brian, if you want to get perch go to the Northwest or Tulls in early January/ late February and troll like you would for crappie. When they are deep in the weeds Dec-Jan you can effectively jig them out with a small spoon, minnow, or what they call a tear drop and wax worm. The tear drop and wax worm method is what I like to do through the ice in Michigan. It works good in the cold months on Western Branch.

interesting. Never fished with Wax worms. Have a local source for those or do you order them?

I had decent luck catching them late spring 06 fishing worms on the bottom too.

Originally Posted by freeflow_23

interesting. Never fished with Wax worms. Have a local source for those or do you order them?

I had decent luck catching them late spring 06 fishing worms on the bottom too.

I wouldn't even know where to get them here. I'd ask around. If I come across some I'll let you know. The ones I used were from Michigan, You can buy them at any bait shop up there. If you wanted to order some though you can get them from Cabela's. The gills love them too when it's cold in the springs. Trick is to change them out when all the juice squirts out of them.

Worms can be effective in the weeds late sping or late fall. I prefer using a crawleer harness or just a #1 hook and smal slip shot. A lot of times they'll also hit a beetle spin with no weight. You have to just let it free fall then watch your line. They usually spit instead of swallow if they don't like it at first.

Go to www.vados.com

tell em' LOBYsent ya ...they will ship them to your door in excellant shape...by the 1000 count. remeber, never put wax worms in the refrigerator...55-65 degrees and dry cool area.........will last for weeks and weeks...as long as you sort out a few dead ones here and there...use a cardboard beer flat and a old creditcard...flick out the bad ones and keep em fresh!.............LOBY