# Perch



## keiffer158

Spoke with a biologist at Stone lab today about the perch and what was going on with them. He smiled and picked up a specimen jar full of spiny water fleas and said they were the problem. He told me that they had just had a meeting with the state biologist who was just back from doing a count and survey of stomach content on the perch. The count was outstanding and just as good as this years walleye class. All of there stomachs were filled with the fleas. He said the fleas suspend throughout the water column but tend to concentrate around the thermocline. This has caused the perch to spread out as well and not school up on the bottom where they can be targeted by fisherman. Good news is he said the flea hatch is abnormally large this year but should return to a normal level (for an invasive) so the perch fishing will go back to normal. That's all I know about that.

Sent from my SM-G977U using Tapatalk


----------



## billy4prez

I hope he is right!!!


----------



## todddye

So you're saying there's a chance...

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk


----------



## Shortdrift

Might be worth fishing with ice fishing flies tipped with maggots or wax worms.


----------



## todddye

Or sabiki rigs

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk


----------



## die4irish

Shortdrift said:


> Might be worth fishing with ice fishing flies tipped with maggots or wax worms.


we have been but no luck


----------



## Searay

billy4prez said:


> I hope he is right!!!


Fingers and toes crossed!


----------



## Snackmans Dad

Thanks for that bit of insight..


----------



## LEfriend

Shortdrift said:


> Might be worth fishing with ice fishing flies tipped with maggots or wax worms.


Ron - I thought same thing so we tried it all Friday. Gave it a good go. Buddy ran one rod with sabaki rigs tipped with pinhead or minnow piece, and second rod normal crappie rig. I took a brown colored trout fly and tipped it with a wax worm on one of the 3 hooks on one of my crappie rigs. Tried to mimic a water flea. Fished that on bottom and even up high some. At times even ran the fly plain. On my other rod ran one of the 3 hooks with just a large meal worm/grub type.

I took nothing at all on on the fly or the meal worm. What few I got always hit the minnow. 

Buddies sabaki rig did prove to be the winner for the day....that is if you consider a grand catch of 4 dink perch in 3 hours on that one rod a win! (the tiny walleye and junk fish did like it too...)

We ended with a total of 9 perch and 2 of those were keepers, if you consider barely 8 inches a keeper.


----------



## Shed Hunter 365

I was catching perch while casting for eyes by accident higher in water column over 50' of water early summer. Not big bunches but some, and it was pretty consistent each time out. Could be some relevance to this.


----------



## Shed Hunter 365




----------



## c. j. stone

Those might be the last five "jumbos" in that part of the lake?????! Let us know how last trip went!


----------



## Gringo Loco

keiffer158 said:


> Spoke with a biologist at Stone lab today about the perch and what was going on with them. He smiled and picked up a specimen jar full of spiny water fleas and said they were the problem. He told me that they had just had a meeting with the state biologist who was just back from doing a count and survey of stomach content on the perch. The count was outstanding and just as good as this years walleye class. All of there stomachs were filled with the fleas. He said the fleas suspend throughout the water column but tend to concentrate around the thermocline. This has caused the perch to spread out as well and not school up on the bottom where they can be targeted by fisherman. Good news is he said the flea hatch is abnormally large this year but should return to a normal level (for an invasive) so the perch fishing will go back to normal. That's all I know about that.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G977U using Tapatalk


I have zero confidence in the ODNR and always have. They are only good when they hide behind the bushes on the Maumee with their binoculars and keep score of the poor fishermen that don't realize they will lose their hard earned money. Don't get me wrong they are illegally taking fish and we have the perfect sneaky guys to catch them unaware. Personally I don't fish walleyes in the Maumee in case you think this is personal to me. Every time I have talked with their agents they have been cocky and I wish that my money wasn't going there. Now all you guys can defend them and disagree with me. I don't have any problem with the Michigan DNR however except their expensive price for an out of state license that I no longer buy on principle.


----------



## Osmerus

We have used ice fishin lures in the past and have done good. Also perch diets consist mostly of macro inverts/ insects and mussles not emerald shiners. If their full of bugs their not gona wana eat. Just so much food for them in the lake.


----------



## ress

This is not a erie perch i have seen this a lot in our reservoir









Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk


----------



## JWduckman

Caught a decent one yesterday in Sandusky Bay on a piece of shrimp while catfishing.


----------



## rnewman

If what our biologist said is true them there are a lot of perch still in Erie.Well fed and nearly impossible to catch on rod and reel now.That should make the commercial harvest improved over last year.I would also be looking at the commercial harvest for the last few years.I suspect the the lack of shiners for the last 4yrs and the poor perch fishing during that same time is not a coincidence.Add to that the great numbers of walleye in the lake eating and scattering the schools.


----------



## ErieGoldSportfishing

****** Loco said:


> I have zero confidence in the ODNR and always have. They are only good when they hide behind the bushes on the Maumee with their binoculars and keep score of the poor fishermen that don't realize they will lose their hard earned money. Don't get me wrong they are illegally taking fish and we have the perfect sneaky guys to catch them unaware. Personally I don't fish walleyes in the Maumee in case you think this is personal to me. Every time I have talked with their agents they have been cocky and I wish that my money wasn't going there. Now all you guys can defend them and disagree with me. I don't have any problem with the Michigan DNR however except their expensive price for an out of state license that I no longer buy on principle.



I'm not going to get into a pissing match here but your sentiment that the "ODNR" (the enforcement and management is actually the Ohio Division of Wildlife....or ODOW) doesn't sit well with me. If you have zero confidence in them then you must have been a skeptic regarding the recent giant hatches of walleyes....which are reality. You also must have pooh pooh-ed the idea that the western basin finally pulled off the type of perch hatches we needed to see some decent perch fishing 4 or 5 years ago but again, the numbers and grade have been outstanding the past 2 years. Fisheries biology is not an exact science like chemistry or physics so there is a lot of unforeseen variables when it comes to figuring out what is going on below the surface. Frankly, in the professional circles nationwide the biologists we have working for us in the ODOW are considered to be some of the best. Same goes for law enforcement. If you complain about police setting up and shooting radar to enforce speed limits to "unaware" motorists then you are wrong again. They are not unaware...there are speed limit signs posted in big black and white numbers along the road yet people routinely break them and get caught. That's how laws are enforced. River poachers fall into the same category. They know exactly what the limits and regulations are but still try to break the law. Don't hate on the wildlife officers for doing their jobs well enough to make sure the perps get caught.

We a blessed to have a highly educated and trained, dedicated, and talented group of people working for the ODOW with amazing leadership above them in the ODNR.


----------



## LEfriend

ErieGoldSportfishing said:


> I'm not going to get into a pissing match here but your sentiment that the "ODNR" (the enforcement and management is actually the Ohio Division of Wildlife....or ODOW) doesn't sit well with me. If you have zero confidence in them then you must have been a skeptic regarding the recent giant hatches of walleyes....which are reality. You also must have pooh pooh-ed the idea that the western basin finally pulled off the type of perch hatches we needed to see some decent perch fishing 4 or 5 years ago but again, the numbers and grade have been outstanding the past 2 years. Fisheries biology is not an exact science like chemistry or physics so there is a lot of unforeseen variables when it comes to figuring out what is going on below the surface. Frankly, in the professional circles nationwide the biologists we have working for us in the ODOW are considered to be some of the best. Same goes for law enforcement. If you complain about police setting up and shooting radar to enforce speed limits to "unaware" motorists then you are wrong again. They are not unaware...there are speed limit signs posted in big black and white numbers along the road yet people routinely break them and get caught. That's how laws are enforced. River poachers fall into the same category. They know exactly what the limits and regulations are but still try to break the law. Don't hate on the wildlife officers for doing their jobs well enough to make sure the perps get caught.
> 
> We a blessed to have a highly educated and trained, dedicated, and talented group of people working for the ODOW with amazing leadership above them in the ODNR.


Well said


----------



## KI Jim

ErieGoldSportfishing said:


> I'm not going to get into a pissing match here but your sentiment that the "ODNR" (the enforcement and management is actually the Ohio Division of Wildlife....or ODOW) doesn't sit well with me. If you have zero confidence in them then you must have been a skeptic regarding the recent giant hatches of walleyes....which are reality. You also must have pooh pooh-ed the idea that the western basin finally pulled off the type of perch hatches we needed to see some decent perch fishing 4 or 5 years ago but again, the numbers and grade have been outstanding the past 2 years. Fisheries biology is not an exact science like chemistry or physics so there is a lot of unforeseen variables when it comes to figuring out what is going on below the surface. Frankly, in the professional circles nationwide the biologists we have working for us in the ODOW are considered to be some of the best. Same goes for law enforcement. If you complain about police setting up and shooting radar to enforce speed limits to "unaware" motorists then you are wrong again. They are not unaware...there are speed limit signs posted in big black and white numbers along the road yet people routinely break them and get caught. That's how laws are enforced. River poachers fall into the same category. They know exactly what the limits and regulations are but still try to break the law. Don't hate on the wildlife officers for doing their jobs well enough to make sure the perps get caught.
> 
> We a blessed to have a highly educated and trained, dedicated, and talented group of people working for the ODOW with amazing leadership above them in the ODNR.



I agree 100%. The biggest concern I have is that that politicians who do not have a relationship with the outdoors-are not hunters or fisherman-look at budgets for research and restoration of the Great Lakes as an opportunity to cut spending.


----------



## Jim Stedke

There are some "politics" being played by the state legislature right now. We need to be going to bat for the ODNR and the ODOW. It's not the time to complain and bitch.

In any event what do we have to bitch about? Walleye fishing is as good or better then it ever has been, and historically when the walleyes are abundant the perch fishing is not the best and visa versa.

I'm with Eric, I'm counting my blessings.


----------



## KVDROCKS

I was told this weekend by a guy who runs the ramp at Ashtabula its a combination of 3 things. (1) The walleye population is huge and they are eating many of the perch. (2) The netting, said they have nets on both side of Ashtabula. (3) Warm water temps are impacting the hatch. These are in no certain order. I don't know enough about perch, but I sure hope the fishing gets back to what is was in the past. Sure love me some good deep fried jumbo lake erie perch.


----------



## Shortdrift

Jim Stedke said:


> There are some "politics" being played by the state legislature right now. We need to be going to bat for the ODNR and the ODOW. It's not the time to complain and bitch.
> 
> In any event what do we have to bitch about? Walleye fishing is as good or better then it ever has been, and historically when the walleyes are abundant the perch fishing is not the best and visa versa.
> 
> I'm with Eric, I'm counting my blessings.


_*
Well said Jim. *_


----------



## KI Jim

Jim Stedke said:


> There are some "politics" being played by the state legislature right now. We need to be going to bat for the ODNR and the ODOW. It's not the time to complain and bitch.
> 
> In any event what do we have to bitch about? Walleye fishing is as good or better then it ever has been, and historically when the walleyes are abundant the perch fishing is not the best and visa versa.
> 
> I'm with Eric, I'm counting my blessings.



Very well said Jim.


----------



## hunt-n-fish

ress said:


> This is not a erie perch i have seen this a lot in our reservoir
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk



What exactly are we looking at here? Where did the crayfish come from?


----------



## Scum_Frog

came out of the perch's stomach....


----------



## ress

There were 3 total. Two decomposed to the point that only the claws were left and the fresh one in the pic. Have caught them for a few yrs that have had crawdads in the bellies.


----------



## Shoguner61

ErieGoldSportfishing said:


> I'm not going to get into a pissing match here but your sentiment that the "ODNR" (the enforcement and management is actually the Ohio Division of Wildlife....or ODOW) doesn't sit well with me. If you have zero confidence in them then you must have been a skeptic regarding the recent giant hatches of walleyes....which are reality. You also must have pooh pooh-ed the idea that the western basin finally pulled off the type of perch hatches we needed to see some decent perch fishing 4 or 5 years ago but again, the numbers and grade have been outstanding the past 2 years. Fisheries biology is not an exact science like chemistry or physics so there is a lot of unforeseen variables when it comes to figuring out what is going on below the surface. Frankly, in the professional circles nationwide the biologists we have working for us in the ODOW are considered to be some of the best. Same goes for law enforcement. If you complain about police setting up and shooting radar to enforce speed limits to "unaware" motorists then you are wrong again. They are not unaware...there are speed limit signs posted in big black and white numbers along the road yet people routinely break them and get caught. That's how laws are enforced. River poachers fall into the same category. They know exactly what the limits and regulations are but still try to break the law. Don't hate on the wildlife officers for doing their jobs well enough to make sure the perps get caught.
> 
> We a blessed to have a highly educated and trained, dedicated, and talented group of people working for the ODOW with amazing leadership above them in the ODNR.


There is corruption all the way to the top


----------



## walleyeseizure

I have spoken to a few biologist regarding the perch decline as well. Neither said it was because they prefer spiny water fleas over shiners. They did say there is a correlation with HABs and decline in perch and shiners and other bait fish. Without typing a huge paragraph. The HABs are causing massive dead zones in the central basin. These dead zones exist on the bottom and cause perch and other fish to suspend making them easy prey for the massive schools of walleye. This is causing a lack of recruitment in perch. Perch hatches have been good but when they can’t stay below the walleye they are eaten. Same with shiners. They say the plan is to raise the walleye limit next year. Maybe Eric has more insight into that topic. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## brad crappie

Raise it to ten and see how fast they deplete the eye population!! I catch enough fish from panfish to eyes to keep, most of the time I don’t even keep them! The trollers will love the higher limit I know guys that only fish erie and wonder what they do with all those fish???? My opinion is lots guys sale them!! It cost money to get to the lake and run the boat!!!! Get rid of commercial netters and let the real fishermen make some side money! Pay for a license to sale them,extra money the fisheries!!! Am for more law enforcement on the waters but we lack the funds for more hands!! There is more man hours and more money spent on Erie from biologists than on our inland waters!! We all know why that is a fact!! The foreign invading species is the federal government allowing crap to come in!! The perch are there and guys are not putting the time in cause it’s harder to catch them!! To many guys waiting for the great reports and that’s typical from must fishermen!!! What’s the gps cords and than they will go!!


----------



## Moozboy

ODNR is politics, they tell stories, to protect the perch nets, had my boat docked at state park at Mosquito, some slime broke in, stole everything,but left their cell phone, DNR agents came took phone and a year later still nothing, but hey don’t have an extra walleye on board. And if you believe their”flea” story go play the lottery


----------



## ErieGoldSportfishing

KI Jim said:


> I agree 100%. The biggest concern I have is that that politicians who do not have a relationship with the outdoors-are not hunters or fisherman-look at budgets for research and restoration of the Great Lakes as an opportunity to cut spending.


 Jim the good news is Governor Dewine is a fisherman and Lt. Governor Husted is an avid hunter and fisherman. Also the assistant director of ODNR is former ODOW chief Steve Gray. There is a pretty strong sportsmen's caucus in the state congress and senate but we as sportsmen still need to keep the pressure on them.


----------



## Gringo Loco

ErieGoldSportfishing said:


> I'm not going to get into a pissing match here but your sentiment that the "ODNR" (the enforcement and management is actually the Ohio Division of Wildlife....or ODOW) doesn't sit well with me. If you have zero confidence in them then you must have been a skeptic regarding the recent giant hatches of walleyes....which are reality. You also must have pooh pooh-ed the idea that the western basin finally pulled off the type of perch hatches we needed to see some decent perch fishing 4 or 5 years ago but again, the numbers and grade have been outstanding the past 2 years. Fisheries biology is not an exact science like chemistry or physics so there is a lot of unforeseen variables when it comes to figuring out what is going on below the surface. Frankly, in the professional circles nationwide the biologists we have working for us in the ODOW are considered to be some of the best. Same goes for law enforcement. If you complain about police setting up and shooting radar to enforce speed limits to "unaware" motorists then you are wrong again. They are not unaware...there are speed limit signs posted in big black and white numbers along the road yet people routinely break them and get caught. That's how laws are enforced. River poachers fall into the same category. They know exactly what the limits and regulations are but still try to break the law. Don't hate on the wildlife officers for doing their jobs well enough to make sure the perps get caught.
> 
> We a blessed to have a highly educated and trained, dedicated, and talented group of people working for the ODOW with amazing leadership above them in the ODNR.


----------



## ErieGoldSportfishing

walleyeseizure said:


> I have spoken to a few biologist regarding the perch decline as well. Neither said it was because they prefer spiny water fleas over shiners. They did say there is a correlation with HABs and decline in perch and shiners and other bait fish. Without typing a huge paragraph. The HABs are causing massive dead zones in the central basin. These dead zones exist on the bottom and cause perch and other fish to suspend making them easy prey for the massive schools of walleye. This is causing a lack of recruitment in perch. Perch hatches have been good but when they can’t stay below the walleye they are eaten. Same with shiners. They say the plan is to raise the walleye limit next year. Maybe Eric has more insight into that topic.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



The only limit increase proposed is already a done deal and that is to raise the March and April limits from 4 to 6. It has been mentioned more times than I care to count on this forum that it would literally take the state legislature to amend state law to go any higher than 6 per day. That means it literally takes "an act of congress". HAB's are and have been a factor especially in the central basin creating dead zones. The theory is exactly what walleyeseizure described. The good news is the forage base in Lake Erie is very strong....mostly gizzard shad which are a preferred food of walleyes. Plenty of perch get eaten by walleyes and it's possible they are becoming an easier target due to low oxygen zones. With that said, the trawl surveys are oriented on the bottom and they are showing average to strong year classes over the past few years in the west basin. It will be interesting to see if the perch fire up once the water cools down.


----------



## Gringo Loco

ErieGoldSportfishing said:


> I'm not going to get into a pissing match here but your sentiment that the "ODNR" (the enforcement and management is actually the Ohio Division of Wildlife....or ODOW) doesn't sit well with me. If you have zero confidence in them then you must have been a skeptic regarding the recent giant hatches of walleyes....which are reality. You also must have pooh pooh-ed the idea that the western basin finally pulled off the type of perch hatches we needed to see some decent perch fishing 4 or 5 years ago but again, the numbers and grade have been outstanding the past 2 years. Fisheries biology is not an exact science like chemistry or physics so there is a lot of unforeseen variables when it comes to figuring out what is going on below the surface. Frankly, in the professional circles nationwide the biologists we have working for us in the ODOW are considered to be some of the best. Same goes for law enforcement. If you complain about police setting up and shooting radar to enforce speed limits to "unaware" motorists then you are wrong again. They are not unaware...there are speed limit signs posted in big black and white numbers along the road yet people routinely break them and get caught. That's how laws are enforced. River poachers fall into the same category. They know exactly what the limits and regulations are but still try to break the law. Don't hate on the wildlife officers for doing their jobs well enough to make sure the perps get caught.
> 
> We a blessed to have a highly educated and trained, dedicated, and talented group of people working for the ODOW with amazing leadership above them in the ODNR.


I can only state what my personal experiences are with your officers which I found obnoxious. Your example of the posted speed limits will illustrate. If you are a mile or two over the limit the officer will ignore this infraction as he knows we are all human. Moreover if you are 10 miles over the officer may give you a warning recognizing that this could be an oversite. Even the red light cameras will give reasonable leeway. Compare this to your officer who finds that you miscounted your perch and have 31 and you have a fine. Or the "respected officer" hiding behind the bush that thinks that walleye was caught just outside the mouth and lays a heavy fine. The point is where is the compassion for others. Maybe it is not the individual officer but the administration that is lacking. Now I don't expect everyone to agree with me as there are those that adhere to strict observation of laws with no give. Fortunately in other professions for example the judiciary there is a higher integrity
in my opinion even if the law was slightly broken.


----------



## capt Hamilton

Jim Stedke said:


> There are some "politics" being played by the state legislature right now. We need to be going to bat for the ODNR and the ODOW. It's not the time to complain and bitch.
> 
> In any event what do we have to bitch about? Walleye fishing is as good or better then it ever has been, and historically when the walleyes are abundant the perch fishing is not the best and visa versa.
> 
> I'm with Eric, I'm counting my blessings.


You are right. We got a great thing.


----------



## brad crappie

Moozboy said:


> ODNR is politics, they tell stories, to protect the perch nets, had my boat docked at state park at Mosquito, some slime broke in, stole everything,but left their cell phone, DNR agents came took phone and a year later still nothing, but hey don’t have an extra walleye on board. And if you believe their”flea” story go play the lottery


That’s sad I guess u were not famous enough or rich enough! My buddies bait shop got broken into had cameras saw the guy who did it and the law did nothing! Not the officers fault but the corrupted law system!!! Its a joke!! Sorry to hear about that


----------



## TRIPLE-J

****** Loco said:


> Or the "respected officer" hiding behind the bush that thinks that walleye was caught just outside the mouth and lays a heavy fine.


funny, ive been fishing the walleye run for 35 years and I have never been cited for anything, one time a so called ""respected officer"" as you put it, had a talk with me, but that was cause I was catching walleye and giving them away cause I had my limit in 15 minutes and didnt want to drive 2 hours back home for 15 minutes of fishing...he just politely asked me what I was doing and I told him fishing for walleye, he asked if I had my limit and I said yes, he then proceeded to tell me I couldn't give fish away like that ...but I told him I was the only one hooking fish at the time and was just tryin to give some guys a few walleye. he explained that he could technically give me a ticket and then explained why, told him I never thought about that and went home with my fish
he was very nice to me...
I must have gave away 15-20 fish before he said something lol


----------



## boatnut

brad crappie said:


> Raise it to ten and see how fast they deplete the eye population!! I catch enough fish from panfish to eyes to keep, most of the time I don’t even keep them! The trollers will love the higher limit I know guys that only fish erie and wonder what they do with all those fish???? My opinion is lots guys sale them!! It cost money to get to the lake and run the boat!!!! Get rid of commercial netters and let the real fishermen make some side money! Pay for a license to sale them,extra money the fisheries!!! Am for more law enforcement on the waters but we lack the funds for more hands!! There is more man hours and more money spent on Erie from biologists than on our inland waters!! We all know why that is a fact!! The foreign invading species is the federal government allowing crap to come in!! The perch are there and guys are not putting the time in cause it’s harder to catch them!! To many guys waiting for the great reports and that’s typical from must fishermen!!! What’s the gps cords and than they will go!!


From all the exclamation points in your post, I can see why you have the moniker "angry hillbilly", lol


----------



## Bluepiker

The fish biologist really only has a few tools to impact fish population. Improve habitat, length of season, size, and limit is pretty much it. Mother Nature has the only opinion that counts. Dead zones have been in the lake east of Huron forever and only in the last 40 years or so discovered by scientists. A body of water like any habitat will only support so much life. All this opinion stuff is mostly a waste of time. Spiny fleas. 30 years ago biologists were saying perch would not eat them. Ho hum.


----------



## texasrig

ErieGoldSportfishing said:


> I'm not going to get into a pissing match here but your sentiment that the "ODNR" (the enforcement and management is actually the Ohio Division of Wildlife....or ODOW) doesn't sit well with me. If you have zero confidence in them then you must have been a skeptic regarding the recent giant hatches of walleyes....which are reality. You also must have pooh pooh-ed the idea that the western basin finally pulled off the type of perch hatches we needed to see some decent perch fishing 4 or 5 years ago but again, the numbers and grade have been outstanding the past 2 years. Fisheries biology is not an exact science like chemistry or physics so there is a lot of unforeseen variables when it comes to figuring out what is going on below the surface. Frankly, in the professional circles nationwide the biologists we have working for us in the ODOW are considered to be some of the best. Same goes for law enforcement. If you complain about police setting up and shooting radar to enforce speed limits to "unaware" motorists then you are wrong again. They are not unaware...there are speed limit signs posted in big black and white numbers along the road yet people routinely break them and get caught. That's how laws are enforced. River poachers fall into the same category. They know exactly what the limits and regulations are but still try to break the law. Don't hate on the wildlife officers for doing their jobs well enough to make sure the perps get caught.
> 
> We a blessed to have a highly educated and trained, dedicated, and talented group of people working for the ODOW with amazing leadership above them in the ODNR.


You must work there or your wife does. 
The ODNR had nothing to do with the success of the hatches. They just reported on them. What skill does that take. Go take some samples, then report. I'm sure the guys are highly educated, but other than reporting about a natural phenomenon, what did they do. Just like a weatherman, they can't take credit for the weather. 
As far as the wildlife officers, it's just like any profession. Most are good, but there are always those bad apples that taint the rest of the barrel.


----------



## Brahmabull71

texasrig said:


> You must work there or your wife does.
> The ODNR had nothing to do with the success of the hatches. They just reported on them. What skill does that take. Go take some samples, then report. I'm sure the guys are highly educated, but other than reporting about a natural phenomenon, what did they do. Just like a weatherman, they can't take credit for the weather.
> As far as the wildlife officers, it's just like any profession. Most are good, but there are always those bad apples that taint the rest of the barrel.


Please re-read...no one said anything about ODNR / ODOW taking credit for hatch success rates. Good ole Mother Nature gets the only credit there. I agree that they are ONLY reporting through consistent measurable means (trawling) what is happening and reporting to Sportsmen/women the factual data. I for one am happy with their efforts. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to hear Travis Hartman or others speak, this is what he / others say verbatim. The LIMITS are the only thing controlled by the government agencies for the betterment of the species. Actual law changes must be passed as law, that’s it.


----------



## texasrig

ErieGoldSportfishing said:


> If you have zero confidence in them then you must have been a skeptic regarding the recent giant hatches of walleyes....which are reality. You also must have pooh pooh-ed the idea that the western basin finally pulled off the type of perch hatches we needed to see some decent perch fishing 4 or 5 years ago but again, the numbers and grade have been outstanding the past 2 years.


Sure sounds like your saying the DNR is the ones responcibile here.


----------



## russh

boatnut said:


> From all the exclamation points in your post, I can see why you have the moniker "angry hillbilly", lol


!! !!! !!!! !!!!! Whew am I mad!! LOL


----------



## Ten Percent-er

ress said:


> There were 3 total. Two decomposed to the point that only the claws were left and the fresh one in the pic. Have caught them for a few yrs that have had crawdads in the bellies.


I am a fellow perch whore who fishes Erie in NY & the finger lakes....Frankly perch LOVE crayfish...seasonally we use grass crabs as a live bait option, which can be HOT. I have found an artificial crayfish that I fish on a tightline rig....the first season I fished it, boated about 400 perch on it. I always keep one rod tied up with them


----------



## buckeye2

Just as an FYI on what I saw the last time we went out.We caught 48 between 2 of us and threw back another 20 in 4 hours.The perch we did catch were full of shiners and puked them up in the cooler.


----------



## ItsAboutTime

What part of the lake were you fishing


----------



## Gringo Loco

keiffer158 said:


> Spoke with a biologist at Stone lab today about the perch and what was going on with them. He smiled and picked up a specimen jar full of spiny water fleas and said they were the problem. He told me that they had just had a meeting with the state biologist who was just back from doing a count and survey of stomach content on the perch. The count was outstanding and just as good as this years walleye class. All of there stomachs were filled with the fleas. He said the fleas suspend throughout the water column but tend to concentrate around the thermocline. This has caused the perch to spread out as well and not school up on the bottom where they can be targeted by fisherman. Good news is he said the flea hatch is abnormally large this year but should return to a normal level (for an invasive) so the perch fishing will go back to normal. That's all I know about that.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G977U using Tapatalk


I have no claim to have more knowledge than educated biologists. This I can tell you from experience. Last year one day three of us caught 90 perch and they were all over 8 inches many to 11 inches and we only threw back one or two that we probably could have kept. In western basin Lake Erie you always throw back some undersize perch. We didn't because simply there wasn't any and I knew there would be very few this year. This had nothing to do with spiny water fleas or maybe the big ones that day were eating minnows and the little guys were eating the bugs and thats why we didn't catch them if you want to buy that.


----------



## Tbomb55

I was just informed the other day by another fisherman that eye limits can be complicated. He knew a guy who came in with his son and a two man limit. They got checked at the dock and the son lamented to the officer that his dad got nine but he only got three. The father got busted for keeping more than six. Can anyone back this up? I always thought the limit pertained to the number of fishermen and their total limit.


----------



## texasrig

It's a person limit, not a group limit. Even though that's how it works out in the boat most of the time if they are trolling.


----------



## bare naked

Tbomb55 said:


> I was just informed the other day by another fisherman that eye limits can be complicated. He knew a guy who came in with his son and a two man limit. They got checked at the dock and the son lamented to the officer that his dad got nine but he only got three. The father got busted for keeping more than six. Can anyone back this up? I always thought the limit pertained to the number of fishermen and their total limit.


Kids, they can be a hoot sometimes.


----------



## reo

Jim Stedke said:


> There are some "politics" being played by the state legislature right now. We need to be going to bat for the ODNR and the ODOW. It's not the time to complain and bitch.
> 
> In any event what do we have to bitch about? Walleye fishing is as good or better then it ever has been, and historically when the walleyes are abundant the perch fishing is not the best and visa versa.
> 
> I'm with Eric, I'm counting my blessings.


Jim, 
I have the utmost respect for your experience and your willingness to share it. I was a young man during the 80's walleye boom. There was no noticeable decline in perch fishing. None. There has never been a decline in perch fishing even comparable to this. That being said I have my fingers crossed that the last couple of years is some odd combination of circumstances (perfect storm of circumstances) that have temporarily altered their feeding habits because ALL of the oft mentioned "causes" are most definitely NOT new.


----------



## keiffer158

Not conclusive by any stretch but I did catch one 10" perch today and its stomach had nothing but fleas in it. Also I support all law enforcement that hide in weeds to give you a fine for violating the law. If you don't like the law vote in different politicians who will change the law so you can only slightly break it with impunity. Have a nice day.
















Sent from my SM-G977U using Tapatalk


----------



## perchjerk

bare naked said:


> Kids, they can be a hoot sometimes.


Now you know why Tigers eat their young


----------



## buckeye2

ItsAboutTime said:


> What part of the lake were you fishing


west


----------



## gravy10

Scum_Frog said:


> came out of the perch's stomach....


Not lake Erie perch


----------



## bountyhunter

maybe there,s more asian carp in the lake than we think. and yes there is something wrong with the perch in the lake.


----------



## Tall Tales

todddye said:


> Or sabiki rigs
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk


You're gonna let the secret out! LOL


----------



## FISHIN 2

Tall Tales said:


> You're gonna let the secret out! LOL


Just cut the sabiki rigs in half and your golden, 2 fer 1 !!


----------



## Aquaholic

Any suggestions on Sabiki rigs color and size for perch?


----------



## HappySnag

making money off the perch is kiling the perch,
comercial net,kill the perch and kill perch chartes busines.


----------



## Scum_Frog

Ive only used the Sabiki rig for years.....used to use crappie rig but switched over....like state cut them in half and you get two rigs out of one...they are awesome....plus with the piece of fish skin on it usually helps catch fish as well when you lose your bait.


----------

