Big Falls Perch

[Ms. catfish]

Fishcrazy, I finally bopped over to the Highway 50 boat launch in Falls Wednesday afternoon. The water is so amazingly low, but I discovered that I'm a lot closer to the deeper channels now, being a bank fishing fool. I only brought a couple dozen minnows with me, not figuring to catch much. But from the time I flung out a minnow until the time I left I was catching white perch. Most of them were small, smaller than my hand, but a few that I kept were larger than that. The biggest was 12 inches long and fat. This was the biggest perch I've ever caught. Gotta go back! Thanks for the tip!
Ms. Catfish

[FishCrazy]

Hey Ms. Catfish. Havent heard from you in a while. Glad you got over there and found some fish. Iknow the pearch are in there some but mostly I been catching crappie and some nice ones too. how deep you fishing for them? The crappie Im finding are 15 to 18 ft deep. Did you get into any crappie at all. 12 inch perch is nice size. Ill take those any day. Good to hear from you again. Maybe Ill see you there.

[Opie1]

What do you do with those white perch? Here in Ohio on Lake Erie we bounce them off the rail of the boat so they float and the gulls can eat them.
We want the yellow perch.
If you eat them, how do you cook them?
I tried deep fried as that's the only way I know of to cook fish and they weren't very good.

[SUNDROP]

I know they make awesome catfish bait!

[jack]

The white perch or white bass we caught up in falls and the eno are some pretty good eatin.They get pretty large in those lakes up there.Down here at Lake Waccamaw they get decent size,but not as big fish for fish as those up there are.

[FishCrazy]

These fish are known to proliferate in lakes and eat the eggs of other species. I think that there is a danger of them overrunning a lake and damaging the populations of other species but they are fun to catch and I have eaten them in the past and found them to be quite good. Like the striper and white bass these fish have some dark meat that I try to trim out as it is kind of strong for my taste. Some dont bother with it though. To each his own. Some folks like to eat bluefish but I dont care for them nyself. I think that some states have mandated that these perch be killed if caught due to their tendency to take over a body of water. I guess thats just fisheries management though.

[Ms. catfish]

Fishcrazy,
I caught one small crappie but I figured the bigger ones come in later in the afternoon. I ran out of minnows, anyway. I was at that pool to the right of the boat ramp by Highway 50 where the rocks line the incline. I don't know how deep it can get there.
I've been fishing at Jordan off Highway 64 since the drought got so bad. I've caught some nice crappie 11 and 12 inches long all fall and winter.
Opie1,
I like to bake my fish, with a light seasoned flouring. I like Autry's for flouring, but I also concoct my own. I don't fry anything, especially fish, to keep that fried fish smell out of the house.
Sundrop,
I've tried cut perch for cats but no luck at Falls. I've caught nice cats on cut fish at the Jordan dam spillway. The Jordam spillway's become so full of snags that it's hard to fish there. Those big cats like to lie in the deepest water in that spillway. Folks get crammed up in that corner on that concrete walkway and lines get tangled so bad I stay back and usually just watch. I've seen guys pull out some huge strikers or hybrids out of there on live bait. Cats and stripers are some good eating, too!
Ms. Catfish

[FishCrazy]

Ms. Catfish do you fish from shore on Jordan? If so where? Right off the 64 bridge? Thanks for the info. For your info that water you are fishing at the spillway there is about 20 foot deep now with the water down like it is. I been fishing anywhere from 15 to 18 feet deep. Try to cast out far and fish deep and just work it back in till you find em. There are some nice ones to be had there.

[SUNDROP]

My catfishing has always been poor at Falls. I always went to Kerr and fished the bridge at Nutbush back then when I lived in Franklinton and had no boat.

[Ms. catfish]

Fishcrazy,
I've fished the Beaverdam spillway area, where that large concrete pillar structure sits. I know it's deep at that structure. I've seen boaters ride right up to that structure and pull in big crappie and nice white bass. I haven't been there since the drought. Plus it's a tough climb back up those steps. Even going back up the long widening path tires me out with so much equipment.
Sundrop, I've never fished at Kerr and have only been there once to wade, several years ago. Where we went the water seemed shallow. Where do you suggest fishing from (the bank, that is) to catch big uns? I have a hankering to try those waters!
Ms. Catfish