Anyone have any tips for finding perch in the spring? What kind of presentations are you using to cover ground and find schools. Being out of work I figured I may try to hit up a perch lake next week as the ice came off it last week. Should I be looking towards spawning areas near bays with cattails this early?
Andrew, my best perch fishing is in May when the water temperature is over 60 degrees with less water clarity which draws fish accumulations (not schools) of fish into water 6′ or less. Better yet is just prespawn when fish are in 4’or less hanging out for the next egg to drop (sorry for the pun). After that, like you said, covering water is paramount to catching any fish – and especially perch – which seem to suspend near one another.
As anyone who’s read my posts on different forums and speaking from personal experience over many decades, a ball head jig with some fish attractor attached is my choice for fishing any fish species.There are an infinite number of attractors that provoke fish to bite, the key being the size and action of the attractor.
Last year I decided to use the fluffy hair from my border collie and man did it catch fish either under a float or cast without one.
The hair I found pulsates with the least jig motion and as most of us know, finesse lures are all about lure action at the slowest retrieves. This last winter I caught over a dozen fish in my pond on the 1/24 oz. hair jig. Some tie feathers, deer or squirrel hair, tinsel and others, but it all comes down to personal preference via experience.
Soft plastics by far are my most product jig bait. Again, there are an infinite number of designs that catch fish – from 4″ bass to 7 lb catfish.These various shapes, actions and sizes ALL catch fish – including perch.
If you’ve caught bass on wacky rigged Senkos, you’ll recognize the mini-sticks shown above wacky rigging using a 1/32 or 1/16 oz jig. Amazing the numbers of suspended and active fish you can catch with that design and presentation. (Note the variety of colors – any or all which can catch fish in a single outing – clear plastic included.)
If you have finesse worms lying around, cut off 2″ of the tail and rig on a light jig.
Crappie Magnet grubs are also multispecies and do great most months of the year.
…as do Trout Magnets under a float:
The key is a slow presentation and finding the depth fish are striking. Could be 1 foot near the surface or mid depth in 6′. Pauses are necessary and I’ve found the only time I might use a steady retrieve is with curl tail grubs, Beetle Spin plus jig or trolling crankbaits like what this perch hit:
Covering water is key as is time of day which might only be one or two hours morning or evening.
Hope this advice helps.
Minnow’s back! 
No expert in perch spring fishing, but ive caught plenty on the shallow flats in whatever good weed growth you can find.
Thanks Beads. Always nice to be appreciated.
Perch cut bait is awesome! But illegal. Cannibals!
Good info! Thank you.
One thing of note: the waters I fish have a maximum depth of 14′ but average 10′ or less. For this reason I think the lures I use do well. For lakes with depths over 40′ with few extensive weedy flats or hard pack shallow areas and rock walls, some of those lures and presentations might not work. All I know is they do in a dozen or more local waters and upstate in the Mohawk R.,NY for smallmouth, a long tidal creek on level with the Hudson R. and in the Wallkill R. near me – many holding crappie, smallmouth bass, largemouth, perch, catfish and rock bass.
So as you can see, the variety of waters and species these lures can catch is varied. Of course I do use large lures for large fish such as jig and trailer, spinnerbaits with large blades, crankbaits too big for panfish and large plastic worms and creature baits. Big baits = big fish.
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