Hit RP on ice for the first time this season, and has been said in other reports, it is HOT for perch right now, and likely will be as long as we can get on the ice...MW Scott shared my shelter this frigid A.M..Monday, Trump Inauguration Day...easily done, cuz 1 pole was all you could concentrate on with the bite being so fast..Our fish finders must have been on different frequencies, cuz we each used our own by our holes, and there was no "interference" on either, other than the multiple perch marks..Average fish size (at least as of now) could be the problem for now, and maybe future, because of this (as of now) high quantity of perch...we knew there was a very successful spawn the last couple years, because of good water, and trolling during open water season showed huge clouds of (suspect) perch...Perch fillets are a treat..maybe takes awhile to 'clean' a bunch, especially in the 8 to 9" range, but worth it when you treat yourself, family, or friends to a perch fry you can easily do, that would rival a "Friday Nite Fish Fry" back in a Bar in Wisconsin....right now we should be taking advantage of this resource, try to reduce some of the numbers here at RP, respect the fish and fishery, clean up the ice after yourself....and bring home the perch...see you on the ice...Guluk...
(01-21-2025, 09:34 PM)Jmorfish Wrote: [ -> ]Hit RP on ice for the first time this season, and has been said in other reports, it is HOT for perch right now, and likely will be as long as we can get on the ice...MW Scott shared my shelter this frigid A.M..Monday, Trump Inauguration Day...easily done, cuz 1 pole was all you could concentrate on with the bite being so fast..Our fish finders must have been on different frequencies, cuz we each used our own by our holes, and there was no "interference" on either, other than the multiple perch marks..Average fish size (at least as of now) could be the problem for now, and maybe future, because of this (as of now) high quantity of perch...we knew there was a very successful spawn the last couple years, because of good water, and trolling during open water season showed huge clouds of (suspect) perch...Perch fillets are a treat..maybe takes awhile to 'clean' a bunch, especially in the 8 to 9" range, but worth it when you treat yourself, family, or friends to a perch fry you can easily do, that would rival a "Friday Nite Fish Fry" back in a Bar in Wisconsin....right now we should be taking advantage of this resource, try to reduce some of the numbers here at RP, respect the fish and fishery, clean up the ice after yourself....and bring home the perch...see you on the ice...Guluk...
Good seeing you guys out there. The fast action was great for the boys I had out with me, only wish the fish where a little bigger. As I mentioned out on the ice I think Rockport could benefit from the addition of Tiger Muskie.
![[Image: IMG-3213.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/FfTQG3v3/IMG-3213.jpg)
I had a bunch of my students anglers out there. The amount of perch being caught and harvested was insane. Insane enough I actually am concerned about an over harvest if the bite stays like this. I took home 15. Plenty for my little crew still at home and when I processed them mostly females. We actually caught a large number of bigger ones. +11inches. In our two tents well over 150 were caught. Turned back if they did not show air bladders. 28 ft. East side away from people. Not the normal locations but I don't think it really mattered as I had students by the dam with families who probably harvested over 300 between all the poles.
(01-22-2025, 12:33 AM)Cowboypirate Wrote: [ -> ]I had a bunch of my students anglers out there. The amount of perch being caught and harvested was insane. Insane enough I actually am concerned about an over harvest if the bite stays like this. I took home 15. Plenty for my little crew still at home and when I processed them mostly females. We actually caught a large number of bigger ones. +11inches. In our two tents well over 150 were caught. Turned back if they did not show air bladders. 28 ft. East side away from people. Not the normal locations but I don't think it really mattered as I had students by the dam with families who probably harvested over 300 between all the poles.
Over harvest is impossible at RP, especially since cover is so slim there.
High, sustained through early summer, water levels is what we need there.
Big spawn to feed the Perch in there could make RP epic next year.
Think ‘unlimited harvest’ of Perch at Cascade for terrific results!
(01-22-2025, 12:02 AM)obifishkenobi Wrote: [ -> ] (01-21-2025, 09:34 PM)Jmorfish Wrote: [ -> ]Hit RP on ice for the first time this season, and has been said in other reports, it is HOT for perch right now, and likely will be as long as we can get on the ice...MW Scott shared my shelter this frigid A.M..Monday, Trump Inauguration Day...easily done, cuz 1 pole was all you could concentrate on with the bite being so fast..Our fish finders must have been on different frequencies, cuz we each used our own by our holes, and there was no "interference" on either, other than the multiple perch marks..Average fish size (at least as of now) could be the problem for now, and maybe future, because of this (as of now) high quantity of perch...we knew there was a very successful spawn the last couple years, because of good water, and trolling during open water season showed huge clouds of (suspect) perch...Perch fillets are a treat..maybe takes awhile to 'clean' a bunch, especially in the 8 to 9" range, but worth it when you treat yourself, family, or friends to a perch fry you can easily do, that would rival a "Friday Nite Fish Fry" back in a Bar in Wisconsin....right now we should be taking advantage of this resource, try to reduce some of the numbers here at RP, respect the fish and fishery, clean up the ice after yourself....and bring home the perch...see you on the ice...Guluk...
Good seeing you guys out there. The fast action was great for the boys I had out with me, only wish the fish where a little bigger. As I mentioned out on the ice I think Rockport could benefit from the addition of Tiger Muskie.
A few Musky could not hurt, IF we protect them from Spearos!
The thing Perch really need most in our fake lakes (reservoirs) is a constant food source.
Poor things eat really good the last two springs due to good reservoir levels and even if we fill RP this year if we don’t have a good spawn the poor little devils will starve and stunt next year.
Sterile walleye or saugeyes would be better control for perch. Once tigers hit 2-ft size or so they'll likely chase bows and Kokes and ignore perch. More nutrition in a larger package. Just like lakers tigers will seek out the best and easiest food source.
I could get on board with eyes or saugeyes over Muskie. Fine table fare both of them.
Some new predator fish could be a good thing at RP, but if we're talking about it too much, some jerk privateer might think it's time for his 'Bucket Brigade'...Hope no one is encouraging that..but we could make a suggestion to DNR...in the mean time, I say we should be the predators, and legally take what we can use... Go Fish..
(01-24-2025, 04:23 AM)Jmorfish Wrote: [ -> ]Some new predator fish could be a good thing at RP, but if we're talking about it too much, some jerk privateer might think it's time for his 'Bucket Brigade'...Hope no one is encouraging that..but we could make a suggestion to DNR...in the mean time, I say we should be the predators, and legally take what we can use... Go Fish..
I think you are right, DWR should open limit Perch at RP right now.
I boated there multiple times in Oct/November and the schools of Perch are mind boggling.
And, I would love to see some sterile Eyes in there.
The Smallies are very nice in RP, but they are not enough to stop a ‘boom’ which left unchecked becomes a ‘bust’.
(01-25-2025, 12:40 AM)MrShane Wrote: [ -> ] (01-24-2025, 04:23 AM)Jmorfish Wrote: [ -> ]Some new predator fish could be a good thing at RP, but if we're talking about it too much, some jerk privateer might think it's time for his 'Bucket Brigade'...Hope no one is encouraging that..but we could make a suggestion to DNR...in the mean time, I say we should be the predators, and legally take what we can use... Go Fish..
I think you are right, DWR should open limit Perch at RP right now.
I boated there multiple times in Oct/November and the schools of Perch are mind boggling.
And, I would love to see some sterile Eyes in there.
The Smallies are very nice in RP, but they are not enough to stop a ‘boom’ which left unchecked becomes a ‘bust’.
I think that's what happened to the perch fishing at Hyrum 5 or 6 years ago, and also at Starvation 7 or 8 years ago..when both those places were so good for a few years...
Almost impossible for perch to overpopulate...as long as they maintain good spawning conditions. In many of our perch ponds the big perch make lotsa little perch and that's about all they have to feed on. Usually very little natural food like aquatic invertebrates or other "minnows" for them in their food chain. However, when there is a couple of bad runoff years in a row...or some other reason for a decline in water levels...exposing the rubble and/or vegetation upon which perch spawn...there will be a poor spawn and a great reduction in food for the bigguns. So water levels are more important to a healthy perch population than mere numbers of adult perch.
And there are species specific parasites and viruses that sometimes take out large portions of a fish population. This happened both at Jordanelle and a couple of years later at Starvation. Huge dieoffs under the ice with only a few fish left for anglers the following spring.
In waters like the Yuba of old, large numbers of walleyes and northern pike did reduce the numbers of larger perch...up to 8-10". But again, as long as there was a good spawn each year, the big perch and other predators had plenty to eat. And a study was made back then that estimated that angling pressure alone only accounted for about 30% of perch removed from the system. Natural predation and disease killed far more. The combination of increased water demands by the water users...and several years of deep drought in the early 2000s...resulted in a dieoff of virtually all fish in Yuba. And it has never regained the healthy balance it once had.
So it is great to be able to harvest lots of perch when they are available. But even the heaviest angler pressure is not likely to affect the population as much as drought and water management practices.
(01-25-2025, 03:19 PM)TubeDude Wrote: [ -> ]And there are species specific parasites and viruses that sometimes take out large portions of a fish population. This happened both at Jordanelle and a couple of years later at Starvation. Huge dieoffs under the ice with only a few fish left for anglers the following spring.
So it is great to be able to harvest lots of perch when they are available. But even the heaviest angler pressure is not likely to affect the population as much as drought and water management practices.
I would add to the die off list, Rockport at the end of the last time it was amazing like this, Pineview, and possibly Echo. It is never a popular opinion to give on forums like this, but I greatly fear spring die offs far more in our perch populations than I do stunting, overharvest, predator management, and whatever else folks wring their hands over or think humans have control over.
I have been up to Rockport twice and noticed something unusual with the perch. Normally, perch will orient towards the bottom on the hard deck. However, both times, sizable numbers of perch were coming through about 10-15 ft off the bottom in a well defined "zone". In targeting these fish, I have been able to "high grade" a little and keep the best fish and release smaller ones. None of these fish have been the super dinks others are complaining about elsewhere, but all the 8-11 inch fish that are preferred. When I have filleted and prepped them, they have been full of zooplankton and basically nothing else. I suspect that "zone" is where the zooplankton are. I have no idea if this is good, bad, or indifferent, but I hope it isn't a sign of trouble this spring.
(01-25-2025, 07:47 PM)doggonefishin Wrote: [ -> ] (01-25-2025, 03:19 PM)TubeDude Wrote: [ -> ]And there are species specific parasites and viruses that sometimes take out large portions of a fish population. This happened both at Jordanelle and a couple of years later at Starvation. Huge dieoffs under the ice with only a few fish left for anglers the following spring.
So it is great to be able to harvest lots of perch when they are available. But even the heaviest angler pressure is not likely to affect the population as much as drought and water management practices.
I would add to the die off list, Rockport at the end of the last time it was amazing like this, Pineview, and possibly Echo. It is never a popular opinion to give on forums like this, but I greatly fear spring die offs far more in our perch populations than I do stunting, overharvest, predator management, and whatever else folks wring their hands over or think humans have control over.
I have been up to Rockport twice and noticed something unusual with the perch. Normally, perch will orient towards the bottom on the hard deck. However, both times, sizable numbers of perch were coming through about 10-15 ft off the bottom in a well defined "zone". In targeting these fish, I have been able to "high grade" a little and keep the best fish and release smaller ones. None of these fish have been the super dinks others are complaining about elsewhere, but all the 8-11 inch fish that are preferred. When I have filleted and prepped them, they have been full of zooplankton and basically nothing else. I suspect that "zone" is where the zooplankton are. I have no idea if this is good, bad, or indifferent, but I hope it isn't a sign of trouble this spring.
I was catching Perch last fall with Salmon dodgers and squids running 40’ deep over 90’ deep of water.
Better keep full limits at RP, and if you lose a few to trauma, it is a small price to pay (I can’t believe I just said that. I would have NEVER said that a few years ago).
While both crappies and yellow perch are primarily "piscivorous"...dining mainly on smaller fish...they are also omnivorous opportunists. And even in waters where there are seemingly abundant baby perch dinners, these fish will frequently take advantage of other food tidbits...like clouds of zooplankton.
It's just a whole food chain thing sometimes. Baby perch search out and feed on the zooplankton, which can be anywhere from on the bottom in deep water to suspended somewhere at mid depth anywhere in the lake. Many of us perch jerkers can attest to catching perch or crappies (or even walleyes) suspended well above bottom...both in open water and beneath the ice. If the big perch are targeting small perch they go where the little ones go for their groceries. But as often as not...if the bitty bites are hanging in the sometimes dense clouds...the bigger perch and crappies are just as likely to swim through the zooplankton "soup" with their mouths open...like feeding humpback whales. And there are times when the green soup is more readily available than perchettes. Fish for perch through the ice and it is likely some of the ones you fillet will have nothing but green goo in their innards.
Bottom line is that a healthy perch pond should have plenty of nutrients and lots of zooplankton to maintain the bottom part of the food chain. After that, there needs to be good spawning and recruitment to keep the bigger perch well fed and capable of big spawns. The circle of life.
(01-25-2025, 09:20 PM)TubeDude Wrote: [ -> ]While both crappies and yellow perch are primarily "piscivorous"...dining mainly on smaller fish...they are also omnivorous opportunists. And even in waters where there are seemingly abundant baby perch dinners, these fish will frequently take advantage of other food tidbits...like clouds of zooplankton.
It's just a whole food chain thing sometimes. Baby perch search out and feed on the zooplankton, which can be anywhere from on the bottom in deep water to suspended somewhere at mid depth anywhere in the lake. Many of us perch jerkers can attest to catching perch or crappies (or even walleyes) suspended well above bottom...both in open water and beneath the ice. If the big perch are targeting small perch they go where the little ones go for their groceries. But as often as not...if the bitty bites are hanging in the sometimes dense clouds...the bigger perch and crappies are just as likely to swim through the zooplankton "soup" with their mouths open...like feeding humpback whales. And there are times when the green soup is more readily available than perchettes. Fish for perch through the ice and it is likely some of the ones you fillet will have nothing but green goo in their innards.
Bottom line is that a healthy perch pond should have plenty of nutrients and lots of zooplankton to maintain the bottom part of the food chain. After that, there needs to be good spawning and recruitment to keep the bigger perch well fed and capable of big spawns. The circle of life.
Pat, since we did not make our Willard date come to fruition we better be at RP at ice off to help some 11” Perch complete their ‘Circle of life’….in to my death well.
(01-25-2025, 11:17 PM)MrShane Wrote: [ -> ][quote pid="1160071" dateline="1737840046"]
Bottom line is that a healthy perch pond should have plenty of nutrients and lots of zooplankton to maintain the bottom part of the food chain. After that, there needs to be good spawning and recruitment to keep the bigger perch well fed and capable of big spawns. The circle of life.
Pat, since we did not make our Willard date come to fruition we better be at RP at ice off to help some 11” Perch complete their ‘Circle of life’….in to my death well.
[/quote]
Prolly not the best time for heavy harvesting. The perch will be spawning about ice-out and my experience is that they are usually not too active for anglers until summer warms the water back op to over 60. Best wide-open warm water perch bite is after the young of the year hatchlings get over about 1" long and form those big schools around the shoreline. July through iceup has always been pretty reliable.
I fondly reckymember a couple of good days we shared a spot at Echo during that glut period.
(01-26-2025, 03:42 PM)TubeDude Wrote: [ -> ] (01-25-2025, 11:17 PM)MrShane Wrote: [ -> ][quote pid="1160071" dateline="1737840046"]
Bottom line is that a healthy perch pond should have plenty of nutrients and lots of zooplankton to maintain the bottom part of the food chain. After that, there needs to be good spawning and recruitment to keep the bigger perch well fed and capable of big spawns. The circle of life.
Pat, since we did not make our Willard date come to fruition we better be at RP at ice off to help some 11” Perch complete their ‘Circle of life’….in to my death well.
Prolly not the best time for heavy harvesting. The perch will be spawning about ice-out and my experience is that they are usually not too active for anglers until summer warms the water back op to over 60. Best wide-open warm water perch bite is after the young of the year hatchlings get over about 1" long and form those big schools around the shoreline. July through iceup has always been pretty reliable.
I fondly reckymember a couple of good days we shared a spot at Echo during that glut period.
[/quote]
Yes, I hold those memories of Echo close to my heart!
But, my favorite memory I have of our trips is you and I at Starvy the day after Thanksgiving, and I am sure you remember VERY well.
We had found a good pile of Walleye and jumbo Perch so I spot-locked us over them.
We had caught like 35 something Walleye, a good pile of jumbos, and a few Steelies to boot when a boat started heading our way.
That other boat drove straight over to us and anchored like 30’ away.
I was so surprised I was speechless.
I kind of remember you asking them if they wanted to hop in my boat with us and I remember them telling us we were in their spot!
Not so funny then but hilarious now!
I love you Pat!
![[Image: IMG-5842.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/JHyvFpBK/IMG-5842.png)
(01-26-2025, 07:33 PM)MrShane Wrote: [ -> ][quote pid="1160092" dateline="1737906147"]
I fondly reckymember a couple of good days we shared a spot at Echo during that glut period.
Yes, I hold those memories of Echo close to my heart!
But, my favorite memory I have of our trips is you and I at Starvy the day after Thanksgiving, and I am sure you remember VERY well.
We had found a good pile of Walleye and jumbo Perch so I spot-locked us over them.
We had caught like 35 something Walleye, a good pile of jumbos, and a few Steelies to boot when a boat started heading our way.
That other boat drove straight over to us and anchored like 30’ away.
I was so surprised I was speechless.
I kind of remember you asking them if they wanted to hop in my boat with us and I remember them telling us we were in their spot!
Not so funny then but hilarious now!
I love you Pat!
[/quote]
Yep. That was a doozy day...and I think we were both bamboozled by the "sportsmanship" of those whose spot we were hogging. From the perspective of an old geezer that has lots of good memories...but dwindling hope of adding many more...I'm happy for the good times and good friends I have enjoyed. 'Preciate ya.