# Early Season Perch?



## cheddarthief (Jun 18, 2013)

Anyone ever go out for perch at this time of the year? Best location? Western or Central?


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## B Ron 11 (Jul 14, 2012)

I have caught them at the Lorain light house very early in the year. Water temperature is the key. Warm rains bring in the bait and the perch follows.


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## cheddarthief (Jun 18, 2013)

B Ron 11 said:


> I have caught them at the Lorain light house very early in the year. Water temperature is the key. Warm rains bring in the bait and the perch follows.


Do you have a number on when the perch start to come in? Is it like in the fall where you get on a perch mass at the bottom of the lake and it's down/up action or more of a slow pick? Just looking for some details to help gauge when to go out. Thanks.


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## JC heir (Dec 6, 2013)

Presque isle bay.....


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## ErieBoy75 (Aug 4, 2009)

April 12, 2014. Not much earlier the past few years. “Back in the day” we caught them off the east pier in Lorain in mid-March. You never know.


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## aquaholic2 (Feb 17, 2010)

JC heir said:


> Presque isle bay.....


I have done well in the island area in April as well....the big females school near rocky areas to spawn, few guys target them then because the walleyes are usually going then too. Clean water is the driving factor...usually April is full of storms and the water is cloudy. We have taken limits of perch that touch both sides of a 5gal bucket when you hit it just right. By the time word spreads that they are on, you may miss them. One day they are on fire and the next day all you catch is milking ( smaller) males


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## B Ron 11 (Jul 14, 2012)

Water temperature is the key. The stained water is the warmest and clear is cooler.


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

42 Deg. water,depth of 25' or less and Avon to Cleveland has worked for me in the past.Havn't done it for the past few year's 'cause of the tIme and money consuming WALLEYE !!


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## floater99 (May 21, 2010)

I had a first last Feb we limited out three days in a row on perch never thought it would be 40 plus degrees and sunny and fishing and catching on open water We fished behind west lite house on the Cuyahoga rvr we got 4 fish over 14"


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Did a little research!
Perch are most active in Spring and Fall and are one of the earliest spawners(perhaps only second to pike!) of any of our gamefish usually not long after ice out. They(like their "brothers"-walleye) start to spawn when water temps(near bottom) reach 45 degrees. Depending on depth, and wave action which "mixes" the upper and lower water for a more homogeneous temp, spawning activity can continue up to a temp of 50 degrees. They will be congregated in larger schools in favorable conditions(the right temps, good UV light penetration, and "something" to drape their gelatinous eggs over-dense plants, rocks, wood, etc). "Typically" since light penetration is primary for developing eggs, water deeper than 20 ft(or more) is avoided and they will spawn as shallow as 2 ft in turbid water to find this. Perch do not build "nests"!


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## Steelhauler (Apr 7, 2004)

I usually start targeting them in March in the Central Basin. If everything lines up, I'll be out Sunday looking for them


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

.


cheddarthief said:


> Anyone ever go out for perch at this time of the year? Best location? Western or Central?


They do not move far. Where you've got them previously should be a good place to start looking. This IS a problem since "netters" know where "they should be located"!


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Netter aren’t allowed this far in anymore for a few yrs in the fairport area.


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## cheddarthief (Jun 18, 2013)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> Netter aren’t allowed this far in anymore for a few yrs in the fairport area.


I wish they'd do that across the entire lake. Make netters do their work out farther.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

I hear ya. Be careful or the netter trolls on here will chime in and tell you you don’t know how to fish....


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## cheddarthief (Jun 18, 2013)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> I hear ya. Be careful or the netter trolls on here will chime in and tell you you don’t know how to fish....


Chime away. This is a "fisherman's" group. Don't like it? Tough.


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## Eyeonthefly (Jun 3, 2011)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> Netter aren’t allowed this far in anymore for a few yrs in the fairport area.


Two license holders agreed not to fish the hump area, others can if they want.


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> Netter aren’t allowed this far in anymore for a few yrs in the fairport area.


Seems this is fairly new? Remember reading last Fall the nets were reason the perch were non-existing at the Fairport Hump.


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## ldrjay (Apr 2, 2009)

No net zone around Fairport if violated a push will happen to get a shoreline zone restriction. It is self imposed. It's a no commercial fishing zone. If breached a house bill is ready to go. News herald coming other's have articles about it.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

c. j. stone said:


> Seems this is fairly new? Remember reading last Fall the nets were reason the perch were non-existing at the Fairport Hump.


Yep. Basically a done deal. I believe it was last fall, early winter. There is a thread on here somewhere. Hopefully we can get rid of them all together like they did out west.


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## Spongebrain (Feb 12, 2007)

We limited on perch the last week February last year out of turtle creek. I don’t remember what the water temp was but we were walleye jigging and caught 1 perch then set on top of them for 4hrs picking. They were stuffed full and puking up wigglers. My buddy got limits around the islands 2 weeks ago.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

What are wigglers? Mayfly larvae?


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

Lewzer said:


> What are wigglers? Mayfly larvae?


Yup.


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## 25asnyder (Dec 10, 2016)

Man I’d like to try it out what fow was he in around the islands was he close to any particular island


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## Old Lakeshore Charters (May 28, 2016)

I have heard of guys catching them off Marblehead Lighthouse this time of year but have never tried it personally


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## aquaholic2 (Feb 17, 2010)

Old Lakeshore Charters said:


> I have heard of guys catching them off Marblehead Lighthouse this time of year but have never tried it personally


This is fake news....never any Jumbo perch around MH light this time of year....wait until late July....ahyyyyy....


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## jimski2 (Jul 23, 2010)

Perch are under harvested in Lake Erie. They and other species like white bass and white perch feed on the fry and fingerlings of walleye and bass. There is no need for limits on perch catches. We never take enough now and restricting their catch numbers is harmful to the success of the Lakes balance. The “bar room biologist” types are not responsible to the public, only they wish to satisfy their greed and they are damaging to the proper stewardship and management of the Lakes biomass.


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## RStock521 (Jul 17, 2008)

jimski2 said:


> Perch are under harvested in Lake Erie. They and other species like white bass and white perch feed on the fry and fingerlings of walleye and bass. There is no need for limits on perch catches. We never take enough now and restricting their catch numbers is harmful to the success of the Lakes balance. The “bar room biologist” types are not responsible to the public, only they wish to satisfy their greed and they are damaging to the proper stewardship and management of the Lakes biomass.


 I think I'll just let the real biologists do their job and set the limits appropriately. Personally, I don't agree with your comment that they're under harvested; at least not in the central basin.


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## dontknowmuch (Sep 26, 2014)

jimski2 said:


> Perch are under harvested in Lake Erie. They and other species like white bass and white perch feed on the fry and fingerlings of walleye and bass. There is no need for limits on perch catches. We never take enough now and restricting their catch numbers is harmful to the success of the Lakes balance. The “bar room biologist” types are not responsible to the public, only they wish to satisfy their greed and they are damaging to the proper stewardship and management of the Lakes biomass.


I would assume you have some type of a degree in biology to make this statement


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

There is no perch in central and east anymore. Idk commercial fishers themselves voted to stay out of a pretty big area because anglers only got 8% of the usually total in 2 years.... Doesn't sound good


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## youngblood (Feb 9, 2012)

set-the-drag said:


> There is no perch in central and east anymore.


I did ok on Perch on the East end this winter. Wasn't on fire but I have done worse.


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## jimski2 (Jul 23, 2010)

You just have to know how to find them. Things change daily, Do not anchor up because they were here the other day. Use your graph to find them on the bottom first. It takes time, watch for boats catching, not just in a pack.


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