Jeremy Smith of Lindner’s Angling Edge shares some tactics and strategies on ice fishing perch.
Ice Fishing Perch
Jumbo Perch are a favorite to chase across the ice belt. Their aggressive nature and willingness to bite make them a staple for many ice anglers.
Perch tend to spread out on massive flats feeding on small minnows, freshwater shrimp, small crayfish, and other invertebrates.
These flats can often be expansive sometimes being several hundred yards long. One of the best strategies to locate perch is to drill a series of holes roughly twenty yards apart. Stay on the move until you contact a school of large sized perch.
An Aqua-VU underwater camera or forward facing sonar like Humminbird’s MEGA Live can also help speed up the process.
Once you have a the school of perch located, drill out the area and start catching.
Perch have the tendency to school up with the same size class of fish, so if you are able to find a few jumbo perch more should be in the area.
Presentations for Perch
When perch are aggressive and actively feeding larger baits tend to work the best. There are a variety of different spoons and minnow profile baits that work when ice fishing perch.
Jumbo perch can be caught on spoons weighing between 1/16-ounce up to a 1/4-ounce. A few good options include the VMC Bull Spoon, Clam Pinhead Pro, and Northland Glass Buckshot Spoon.
Tip any of these spoons with a minnow head or a few wax worms and you’ve got a deadly presentation when ice fishing perch.
Larger minnow profile baits work well when perch are aggressive. A size three Rapala Jigging Rap, 1/4-ounce Northland Puppet Minnow, or a 3/32-ounce Clam Tikka Flash are three great baits that you can fish without livebait.
When ice fishing perch and they are in a negative and lethargic mood, make the shift from large aggressive baits and downsize to a small tungsten jig. The VMC Mongo Jig, VMC Larv Eye Jig, Northland Mud Bug, and Clam Dropkick are a few proven options.
Any of these jigs can be paired with a plastic or live bait and will work great for perch, especially when they are in a negative mood.
Ice Fishing Perch Destinations
From Maine to Washington state there are a ton of great jumbo perch fisheries across North American, but there are a few that stand out from the rest.
North Dakota is home to a couple of standout perch fisheries. Both Devils Lake and Stump Lake kick out some giant perch each year and are a couple of the best ice fishing perch destinations in the midwest.
The prairie pot-hole region in South Dakota has a bunch of shallow sloughs full of giant jumbo perch. The perch in the Dakota’s grow big and grow fast.
Minnesota is home to a couple great perch fisheries. Leech Lake, Lake Winnibigoshish, and Mille Lacs Lake are all worth mentioning.
If you are interested in some of the biggest perch that swim in the country, then Lake Cascade in Idaho is the place for you. Lake Cascade is the pinnacle of perch fishing in the United States with two pound perch being caught regularly throughout the ice season.
