Twitchbaiting for Fall Perch
I often write a blog not only to help others, but also to cement a detail that we discovered or learned from time spent on the water. This past Monday, my son, his fiance, and I had a chance to fish together. The weather wasn’t ideal (but it could have been way worse). And what we got to do is this: we got to search for perch with small crankbaits.
Many target perch with minnows and perch rigs. The problem is that you have to find the fish before you can catch them. And often they can be spread out a bit. So my preference is to fish as aggressively as I can to cover ground. We did this by casting two little baits that have been so good to us: Rapala ultralight cranks and Ima Foxy Fry. With light braid, you can launch both of these baits and cover lots of ground. And here’s what we found: you put these baits in front of perch and they ate the bait.
5 Keys to Finding Perch with Search Baits:
Cover ground. Trust that these fish will reveal where they are at as you cover ground.
Water Temps: Our Temps were hovering around 50 degrees.
Keep track of spots you found perch in years past. They tend to show up in similar areas year after year. Maybe in the same spot, maybe a bit north or south, east or west - in similar water depths.
When you catch one, either drop your Raptors or hit anchor on your Garmin Force. Often fish beget fish.
Pay attention as you are twitching your bait back to the boat. You often will see fish follow even if they don’t commit.
When we finished our day, we were amazed at what the fish had inside their stomachs. They were full of baby crawfish! Makes sense that they were going after the Foxy Fry! Try these techniques and see if you don’t put more fish in the boat!