Few things in fishing are as basic as yellow perch. For the most part this seemingly always cooperative species can be caught in most lakes with little more than some bottom fishing rigs and a bucket full of minnows. Finding perch action isn’t so hard, but finding action on big perch can be. The fall months are the best possible time to target adult sized perch. Putting a few of these jumbos in the bucket boils down to some subtle refinements in tackle, tactics and even the baits used.
Catching yellow perch often involves the use of common spreader rigs designed to present two hooks and two baits near the bottom. A typical “perch” rig is made of heavy monofilament line about 24 inches in length. On the bottom is a clip that accepts a bell sinker. A few inches above this weight a second clip holds a snelled hook. A few more inches up the rig a second snelled hook is positioned. A barrel swivel normally terminates the rig and provides a place to attach the main line.
Most commercially produced “perch” rigs come with two No. 8 or No. 6 snelled Aberdeen style hooks. The small hooks on a perch rig pose a number of problems.
First, these small hooks are often swallowed by aggressive perch as they feed, making it difficult to unhook caught fish quickly. Also, deep hooked fish must be kept regardless of size. A larger No. 4 sized hook is a better choice for both hooking and easily releasing unwanted perch.
Most perch anglers use the typical spreader rig, but a slightly different approach can add bonus fish to the bucket. Wire spreaders that feature a hoop shaped length of wire are designed to be fished near the bottom, but not touching the bottom.
The hoop style spreader accepts a snelled hook at each end of the wire and the main line attaches in the middle, just above a small weight connected to the hoop. The rig balances in the water and the slightest nibble enables the rig to tip and feed line to the fish. In effect, perch can bite without feeling any resistance.
Hoop style spreaders are very effective at catching perch when they are biting exceptionally light. The down side is that most of the fish hooked will have the bait and hook deep in their throat. Using larger sized snell hooks helps to reduce this problem.
The classic two hook rig gets the most attention in perch fishing, but there are other ways to target perch when they go deep in the fall. One of my favorites is to use a Swedish Pimple and remove the hook. Next take a six inch length of 8# fluorocarbon line and tie a dropper to a No. 6 baitholder hook and attach to the split ring that originally held the spoon’s hook.
The spoon provides great contact with bottom and also has enough flash to attract perch. The dropper eliminates the need for the fish to completely inhale the heavy spoon to get hooked. This is a rig I common use in the winter months and it works wonders on fall perch as well. The rule of thumb is to use a Swedish Pimple just large enough to easily maintain contact with bottom.
Jigs are another option for targeting fall perch. A stand up style jig like the popular Bait Rigs Odd Ball is a good choice as it allows the bait to crash the bottom while keeping the hook point upright and ready for action.
By using super thin six, eight or 10 pound test super braid line, it’s rather easy to maintain bottom contact with jigs as light as 1/16 or 1/8 ounce from an anchored position.
I often rig a small panfish style jig like an Bait Rigs Cobra Panfish jig on the line 12 inches above my jig similar to a drop shot rig. This allows me to double up on the amount of bait in the water and provides a bottom and slightly off bottom presentation. Read the rest of this article…..
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