Perch

Looking through the DNR fall net surveys looks like the perch numbers are continuing a downward trend. Anyone fishing them much this year or last? Were up in the fall usually fishing walleyes but occasionally give them a go. We caught a fair amount last year when targeting, but a lot of sorting was needed to get fish to the 10in mark.

Tons of dinks. Very few jumbos.

I stopped hitting Leech for perch about 6 years ago.
The rusty crayfish destroyed a lot of the good weed/cabbage beds and that’s where the perch lived.
From 2000 through about 2014 it was nothing to see baskets of jumbos plump full of 12-14 inchers. The limit was 40 per person back then.
The Fall was always the best for me and guys still get some but far from what it used to be.

From 2000 through about 2014 it was nothing to see baskets of jumbos plump full of 12-14 inchers. The limit was 40 per person back then.

This may have had something to do with it as well.

Many still fish them in the fall but size is definitely not what it was.

A couple of falls ago I took my grandpa out there and we stumbled on to a really good perch bite. Big ones too. Ended up being the last trip I was able to take him on. Glad to end on such a high note.

Thats a good way to go out for sure Rj. Seemed to me like when we were there in October there was very little walleye angling and a lot of perch pressure.

I did see some good pictures from this winter out of some of the resorts catching nice fish. Who knows maybe we are on the bottom end of a downward cycle and starting to trend back the right way.

left my shack on leech last winter. we found a few nice perch but most were dinks. the flasher would be full of marks and most the time it was dinky perch