It seems like most of the perch have moved out of the harbors.When it is time for them to spawn in june/july I dont think you can keep them.I've been fishing the harbors every chance I get and have only seen browns and very few coho caught.Good luck!
Looking for the Infamous Lake Perch
I am looking for perch. Where is the best spot to fish for perch right now? I usually fish Montrose or Belmont. I cannot wait until the jumbos come into the harbors to spawn. I love to eat those perchies. I would appreciate any suggestions in finding perch. Have a good weekend,Edward.
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G
Season is Closed for all of July. The best place is just about any pier,harbor or *breakwall (*if you have a boat) behind the Shedd Aquarium and the Planetarium are classic perch waters and if you don't mind the parking fee's, crowds and fighting heavy traffic to get there...try Navy Pier. Shiner minnows, soft-shell crawdads or raw shrimp and *cut bait (*pieces of small perch) are the best baits, for artificial try Mik-Lurch spinners, Little Joe spinners(gold blades)tipped with crawdad pieces or shrimp, Cubby (or any "nailtail" )Jigs, and Roostertail spinners work too, Color preferences vary depending on water clarity (& the fish) but chartreuse, orange, white are good starters, Gold hooks and spinner blades work better than silver most of the time. The limit is 15 fish, no slot limit. Go get Em!in june/july I dont think you can keep them
LAST WEEK I WAS TALKING TO A LM BIOLOGIST IN MICHIGAN CITY. WE TOUCHED THE SUBJECT OF PERCH AND THIER RETURN. HE HAD ASKED ME IF I CAUGHT ALOT OF BIG ONES THIS YEAR AND I SAID YES. HE THEN TOLD ME THAT EVERYONE IS TOSSING BACK THE SMALL ONES WHICH ARE MALES AND KEEPING ALL THE LARGE ONES WHICH ARE FEMALES. HE ALSO EXPRESSED THAT HE BELIEVES THIS IS A FALSE RETURN OF THE PERCH. JUST THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE.
G
Here's a reprint of a post I did a while back on this subject, with perch season just around the corner I think some of you may find it informative.
Posted by Bob Hicks on February 15, 2002 at 09:23:19:
Did the DNR meeting last night, here's a little of what I got out of it, we don't have to worry about the netters coming back (at least at the present) but.. our Perch aren't doing as well as appearances might lead one to believe, as it turns out the vast majority of the perch we a catching whether they are 5 inches or 13 inches are almost exclusively from the 1998 year class, seems there are some great disparities in their growth rate depending on the availability of the zooplankton that was available when the perch were in their larval stage, good news is that although the numbers of fish are down from historical levels they seem to be holding their own, and the male to female ratio is improving (more surviving females) Sport fishing has little to no effect on the state of the perch fishery, it's more habitat & food supply at the critical larval stage that's going to determine if the fishery survives. Fishing will remain "closed season" in July despite the expressed displeasure of a few of those in attendance last night(Bait-Shop owners?). Nut-shell synopsis: Perch fishing seems to have leveled off at a point where human intervention is not required at this time but are still guarded and should they continue to decline further steps may be taken to attempt to preserve & protect, and although they admit that a stocking program wouldn't be a cost-effective solution nor would it be very successful due to the enormous size of the Lake, they couldn't say what further steps should/could be taken to stop Mother nature from taking her chosen course. My advice to fishermen...Although they say sportfishing doesn't effect the population we should still try to treat our perch fishery like it belongs to someone else & your just borrowing it for the day and YOU are responsible for it's safe return, take what you need, eat what you take, leave some for the next guy, & keep your fingers crossed that our grandkids will still have Jumbo Perch to fish for when they grow up!
Posted by Bob Hicks on February 15, 2002 at 09:23:19:
Did the DNR meeting last night, here's a little of what I got out of it, we don't have to worry about the netters coming back (at least at the present) but.. our Perch aren't doing as well as appearances might lead one to believe, as it turns out the vast majority of the perch we a catching whether they are 5 inches or 13 inches are almost exclusively from the 1998 year class, seems there are some great disparities in their growth rate depending on the availability of the zooplankton that was available when the perch were in their larval stage, good news is that although the numbers of fish are down from historical levels they seem to be holding their own, and the male to female ratio is improving (more surviving females) Sport fishing has little to no effect on the state of the perch fishery, it's more habitat & food supply at the critical larval stage that's going to determine if the fishery survives. Fishing will remain "closed season" in July despite the expressed displeasure of a few of those in attendance last night(Bait-Shop owners?). Nut-shell synopsis: Perch fishing seems to have leveled off at a point where human intervention is not required at this time but are still guarded and should they continue to decline further steps may be taken to attempt to preserve & protect, and although they admit that a stocking program wouldn't be a cost-effective solution nor would it be very successful due to the enormous size of the Lake, they couldn't say what further steps should/could be taken to stop Mother nature from taking her chosen course. My advice to fishermen...Although they say sportfishing doesn't effect the population we should still try to treat our perch fishery like it belongs to someone else & your just borrowing it for the day and YOU are responsible for it's safe return, take what you need, eat what you take, leave some for the next guy, & keep your fingers crossed that our grandkids will still have Jumbo Perch to fish for when they grow up!
SOUNDS ALOT LIKE MY CONVERSATION. CONFIRMED, WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE OR AT LEAST WE ARE EATING COOKIES WHILE THE TEACHER IS READING.
I know that it's not true that *all* the big ones are female and *all* the small ones are the males. I kept plenty of perch from the 7-13" range this winter and more than 90% were female regardless of size. Quite a few of the big ones were males. My experience from 2-3 years ago was completely the opposite with 90% plus being male, so it appears that the females may be making a comeback.
I also have a hard time believing that the 5" and 13" perch are all from the same year class. It seems too great of a size difference.
I also have a hard time believing that the 5" and 13" perch are all from the same year class. It seems too great of a size difference.
AREN'T MOST AQUATIC FEMALES LARGER IN SIZE? WOULD ASSUME SO IN MOST SPECIES OF FISH THAT I AM FAMILLIAR WITH,BUT CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG PLEASE.
G
But it's true! Eat good...grow, it's that simple! DNR has "aged" these fish & almost ALL of them are from the 1998 year class regardless of their size. This is not to say that you wont find a few from other years but the odds are that whether its 5 or 13 inch by this coming June-July it will be a 4 year old fishI also have a hard time believing that the 5" and 13" perch are all from the same year class
I guess I'll have to take the DNR for their word. To me, it just seems illogical to believe that the amount of zooplankton a perch now 3-4 years old ate while back in it's larval stage could produce fish such great size differences.
It's not illogical. Remember the "growing years"? When the body changes from "peeing in your pants" to "putting on your own pants" to "trying to get into someone elses pants". If you had been underfed during any of those stages, you wouldn't be the big, strong, strapping, godlike creature you are today.
Some areas of the lake were bountiful while others were like third world countries. The young wouldn't cover the entire lake shore looking for food.
Some areas of the lake were bountiful while others were like third world countries. The young wouldn't cover the entire lake shore looking for food.
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