Last year I had an idea. That idea turned into a fantasy about huge perch, which eventually turned into a plan that was put into action. The reward was overwhelming then. That first time to this new spot yielded what I have since called “the best perch fishing of my life” after a sweaty hike over 1 mile across snow covered ice. I only fished the gem of a spot one more time after that, as to try and conceal its location. This year came, and the early ice season had me hoping i could get out there again around Christmas time. I checked it out shortly after Christmas and caught a couple jumbos around 12-3/4″, but they were few and far between. After seeing the weather forecast for Sunday, I had to grab up a couple of buddies and invite them in on what I thought could be round two of “the best perch fishing ever.” After a good drive to the location, we were ready to get on ice. After telling them the bite was going to be awesome, I was really hoping the fish would come through for me. It wasn’t long after setting our tip ups that we were jigging away. I started with a swedish pimple/minnow head combo and it stuck for the rest of the day. From 11 AM to 1 PM the bite was relatively slow, but the fish we caught were all keepers. Several of them were over 12″ with Wyatt catching the two biggest fish of the day at 13″ and 13-1/4″ respectively. You’ll see him in the 2nd picture below. The smaller of the two actually came on a tip up with a large shiner while targeting the northern pike that also roam the area. After 1, we had amassed a pile of about 20 perch between Wyatt and myself which was more than enough for the planned evening fish fry. Our friend Kevin played catch and release all day, and after we had enough for a meal, Wyatt and myself did as well. Around 2 o clock a massive school started to work the area and the bite was unreal for about 30 minutes. In that time i caught and released several fish over 12″ with dozens more in the 10-11-1/2″ range. These fish were fierce, and would slam any presentation that you could get in front of them. Slender spoons, jigging rapalas, swedish pimples… all with or without your choice of meat. It didn’t matter, they’d eat it. We were set up in a ditch between two large weed flats. The ditch runs 5-7 feet and is protected from any current. The key was to keep moving and hopping holes as the fish worked up and down the ditch in this large area. Once you got on a hole with some fish you could usually catch 2 or 3 quickly. The tip up action was surprisingly slow, but we were able to get 2 northerns in the 30″ range and a couple of aggressive perch. Overall it was an amazing day. I can’t say enough about it. I was glad to be able to share it with a couple of good friends, who expressed that it was also the best perch fishing they’d ever experience. Wyatt and Kevin both put personal best fish on the ice yesterday. I’m quite happy about that. It was a blast! Sorry for the pictures… guys are getting better and better at figuring out locations simply by recognizing bluff tops. I’m quite certain there have been some bent rod fisherman licking their chops on this spot, and I’m sure its just a matter of time before the masses figure it out, but for now, its a gem of perch that have barely seen baits through the ice!
January 13, 2014 at 3:24 pm
#1359618
