# Ice Perch!



## OHsportsman (Mar 29, 2014)

Is there any inland lakes worth targeting perch in this ice season? I know of a few such as nimisilla have tons of perch but they all seem to be like 6". Any lakes that have decent population and decent sized perch?


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

Well, lets see. There's Mogadore, Wingfoot, and Milton for three. They are there, finding them is another thing all together. There doesn't seem to be bait in large schools like on Erie to keep them in one place long enough to put together any numbers. Here and gone(in little roving wolfpacks) in a flash! I once caught 36 "Jumbos" at Mogadore from a canoe on nightcrawlers many years ago, the most I ever got since that very eventful day was 8 or nine from an inland lake before they quit or moved on! Same for ice crappie although they're not as quick to move as perch. Good luck "hunting"!


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

2x CJ


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## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

Clear fork reservoir......


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## backfar (Sep 24, 2014)

Mogadore has very good size perch...but as already pointed out...staying on them is hard


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

backfar said:


> Mogadore has very good size perch...but as already pointed out...staying on them is hard


My son got a 14", egg-fattened(guessing close to 2#!)female west of 43 last year, couple other 9-10" males. Then they moved on! I put them in my pond. Couple years down the road, might have to take my drill down there and see what's what! 
I've fished Erie, inland lakes, and ponds for perch. The biggest perch I EVER saw hooked(but not landed!) was at Wingfoot abt 15-20 years ago. We were catching them off the fishing dock where the Dog Park is now. Guy next to me tried to "lift" the perch up onto the dock! That fish was easily 16"! It flopped off back into the lake.(Who uses a net for perch??)


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## ratherbecasting (Aug 21, 2012)

Indian Lake has some nice sized perch. Problem is finding them.


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## FISHAHOLIC85 (Apr 22, 2011)

c. j. stone said:


> My son got a 14", egg-fattened(guessing close to 2#!)female west of 43 last year, couple other 9-10" males. Then they moved on! I put them in my pond. Couple years down the road, might have to take my drill down there and see what's what!
> I've fished Erie, inland lakes, and ponds for perch. The biggest perch I EVER saw hooked(but not landed!) was at Wingfoot abt 15-20 years ago. We were catching them off the fishing dock where the Dog Park is now. Guy next to me tried to "lift" the perch up onto the dock! That fish was easily 16"! It flopped off back into the lake.(Who uses a net for perch??)


WOW! That would have been something to see! Biggest I've ever seen was just at 15" and came out of Pymatuning about 3-4 years ago. Guy that was camping in our group caught it off a dock with a hook, crawler and split shot. Looked like a bass in the cooler


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Got into a few nice fatties at Moggie about 5 yrs ago, late season with Mr. Phish42, (John Middleton). Caught them on tip-ups and jigging.It was a very memorable day with him.

I really miss that guy.


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## mrfreeze (Jan 13, 2016)

Findlay Reservoirs, Wellington Reservoir


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## sonar (Mar 20, 2005)

c. j. stone said:


> My son got a 14", egg-fattened(guessing close to 2#!)female west of 43 last year, couple other 9-10" males. Then they moved on! I put them in my pond. Couple years down the road, might have to take my drill down there and see what's what!
> I've fished Erie, inland lakes, and ponds for perch. The biggest perch I EVER saw hooked(but not landed!) was at Wingfoot abt 15-20 years ago. We were catching them off the fishing dock where the Dog Park is now. Guy next to me tried to "lift" the perch up onto the dock! That fish was easily 16"! It flopped off back into the lake.(Who uses a net for perch??)


You ask who uses a net for perch ?? The Guy that is able to produce a pic to go along with your "Big Perch" story...LOL!! Merry Christmas C.J. !! Nothing makes a fish bigger than losing it....


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## joewallguy (Jan 18, 2008)

I've gotten into them at skeeter before.


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## bradley4 (Mar 31, 2014)

Pymatuning has a healthy population


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

sonar said:


> You ask who uses a net for perch ?? The Guy that is able to produce a pic to go along with your "Big Perch" story...LOL!! Merry Christmas C.J. !! Nothing makes a fish bigger than losing it....


Well Vince, I know the fish looked like a "keeper" walleye just with yellow and black suit on-and you know that I "never" stretch the truth! Mery Xmas to you too bud!


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I wish I could find the perch myself. The Findlay reservoirs years ago were probably the best bet in the state for perch , they were plentiful and easy to catch , but due to a list of circumstances you could fish there all year and only catch a few of them , and thats if you are lucky. Nearly a lost cause unless you just want to spend endless hours in the cold and dont care if you catch anything or not.


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## aquaholic2 (Feb 17, 2010)

yonderfishin said:


> I wish I could find the perch myself. The Findlay reservoirs years ago were probably the best bet in the state for perch , they were plentiful and easy to catch , but due to a list of circumstances you could fish there all year and only catch a few of them , and thats if you are lucky. Nearly a lost cause unless you just want to spend endless hours in the cold and dont care if you catch anything or not.


The problem with Findlay is there is just too much water....way under stocked for it's size...and it would help if they allowed weed beds to come back so the fish could bunch up to some degree....... and provide us a starting point...?


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

aquaholic2 said:


> The problem with Findlay is there is just too much water....way under stocked for it's size...and it would help if they allowed weed beds to come back so the fish could bunch up to some degree....... and provide us a starting point...?



There is definately a lack of structure there , not much for the fish to relate to compared to some more natural bodies of water , which makes them harder to find and gives them no cover from predators. What else is going on is other species like white bass are so predominant in such numbers that there is some huge competition for the food available. Even if they were heavily stocked most of the fry would be eaten up before they gained any size. White bass have taken the place over. Back in the day , young perch would gorge themselves on zebra mussels and grow large quick , but those mussels are gone now. 

There was also an explosion of fishing pressure put on the Findlay reservoirs years back when word got out how good the fishing was there , and the ODNR website claiming it as the best choice for inland perch in Ohio just added to the pressure. The limit of....what is it 30 or 40 perch ?....something like that , basically the same as lake Erie , but these inland lakes cant support that kind of pressure like Erie can. Among the many other reasons , Findlay and other reservoirs have been overfished for years. 

There are perch in there , if you can find them , but nothing like it used to be. Not much of a place to target perch , but you can get lucky and catch one while fishing for something else. I used to catch nice sized ones two at a time in the spring , and could usually catch atleast a few on the ice , ....... but I havent been able to catch any in the past two or three years in spite of fishing for them year round. There are still some walleye/saugeye there but even their numbers arent what they used to be , and they tend to run on the scrawny side. 

Its the new reality. Natural bodies of water are probably the best bet for perch these days , plenty of structure and random food sources. Not as easy as the reservoirs once were , but its a better environment for them and not as prone to being overrun by other species.


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