Leech Lake is an 115,000 acre lake that offers some of the best perch fishing in the state. What people have to remember though is that they aren’t everywhere. Jumbo perch may only be in 20,000 acres of the lake.
They need certain habitat and prefer certain habitat. A lot of the leech lake perch fishing is done at depths of twelve feet or less.
They prefer the weed and sand flats and a lot of times they are in the six to nine foot depth range.
When talking about baits I have a few favorites. I love using Northland buckshot spoons. Northland’s Eyeball spoon is a perch killer too, and the bigger size doesn’t seem to scare them. I like colors in the rusty or natural crayfish. Glow colors have been working well too.
When it comes to rods you want something that is sensitive, but still has solid backbone. I prefer mid light rods around 30 to 32 inches. Tuned Up Custom rods makes a few great options like the Fusion and Bullwhip.
I like tipping my spoons with minnow heads and a little thing I do is I don’t pinch the minnow off at the head. I like to pinch it off about half way down giving my bait a bigger profile. This helps me key in on those bigger jumbo perch in the schools.
With those orange fins, jumbo perch are our tropical fish of the north. Good luck out on Leech Lake and good luck perching!
