Thread: BIG white perch mixed with crappie, yellow perch and sunfish in the same area

The fishing was a bit slow yesterday under a blue bird sky with a 10 mph wind. I only hooked 30 or more fish of different species from 11:30am to 2pm (mostly panfish). When the bite is on, I usually get 50 or more to bite in the shallows, but the lake is finally becoming normal in height after a day when we got 5" of rain. Fish loved that added depth close to shore and were easy to catch.

In any case, the lake has seen a resurgence of white perch which have made a big comeback after panfish tournaments didn't include them in the last eight years. At one time I brought in over 40 pounds to the weigh-in and easily won the pot. Looking back, I see that conservation wasn't served but still, white perch are extremely prolific and could crowd out crappie and yellow perch if not harvested.

I have bass in my pond that I hand feed small white perch when I get home and in the beginning could only find 9" long whites in deeper water. Crappies and sunfish were biting fine in the shallows, but the small whites had left the area. I was getting ready to leave the lake and decided to go back to a long mid-lake, rocky hump (4.5' - 6' surrounded by 10') and fish were hanging near the shallowest part of it at 6:30pm. I caught over 20 whites in different sizes plus crappie, yellow perch and sunfish in a mixed school! It's not unusual to catch them together in a small area and when the bite is on you go for it!!! After I got enough to feed my bass, I left.

Note: they say that a bass can consume a fish 1/2 it's length and I decided to keep a 7" white. Sure enough, a bass over 15" ate it at my feet! Talk about tamed and trusting!
Second thing is that a bass swallows a fish fast in warm water and within 15 minutes four bass were waiting for more in one foot of clear water in front of me.

Walden, NY - north of West Point