Can anyone help me out? I've fished Rockport for the past two weekends with no luck on the perch. I've tried depths from 50' to 15' using a variety of Ratsos, jigs and ice flies... still nothing, not a single perch. I have had some success with the trout but it is pretty slow. Most of my efforts have been on the west side of the resevoir. Any suggestions on location and productive rigs?
[signature]
well i will be there sunday that i do is find 40 ft of water by some rocks but not on a point if you want like i said i will be there sunday channel 12
[signature]
[
]maybe i can help you a little bit. we fish on the boat ramp side. we go straight out from the ramp and fish in 35 feet to 40 feet of water. we use the eyes of the perch and fish right on the bottom. best time is between 7 and 10. good luck
[signature]
If you are not fishing where the perch are you wont catch any . Some days it might take me 20 holes to find them but when I do it can be nonstop action . Take some Binoculars with you and see where others are having luck and move close in that area and you should do better . Rockport is general easy to get on them . They will eat most anything you throw at them , but genz worm is one of my favorites with a perch eye . try it off the bottom about 6" to 12" . West side is where I been fishin this ice season and I have a season pass for the state park .
[signature]
I have found that most of the time if you are not catching perch, it is because you are not in contact with the bottom. The perch stay so low on the bottom of the reservoir that you don't even pick them up on a fish finder. They just look like structure or mounds.
You must let your line go all the way down until it stops on its own. It is now touching the bottom. Now close the bail by hand and don't reel it up. Keep as close to the bottom as you can even if one jig is touching. Now be ready for a very light bite. You may only see slack in your line and not even feel anything, or you may get a quick light pull. Set the hook hard and fast to see if you have a pick up.
You will find most of the perch in 30' of water or deeper. I like to start in about 40' of water. The perch like the warmer deeper water.
Think about when you are bait fishing for perch in the summer. You cast out and let your line settle on the bottom and wait for a bite. You are doing the same thing on the ice, only you are fishing directly under you now.
Do this and you will catch perch. DKS
[signature]
Thanks to everyone for the helpful tips! I will definitely give them a try.
[signature]
I was there last thursday and used a silver kastmaster as an attractent and a white curly tail crappie jig and caught over 60 fish.I was fishing between the dam and the first outhouse in 40 feet of water.Make sure you let your rig hit the bottom then just reel it up so your only inches off the bottom.Tip your jig with a piece of worm or meal worm,and even using an oil based scent will help.You will catch fish. PEACE!!!!
[signature]
I agree with the other posts we have fished rockport several times this year. Just out from the boatramp and slightly south. There is a marker buoy. We fish just 100 feet south of it. In 37-41 feet of water. We have caught them on night crawler, waxies, perch eyes you name it. We are usually using a rat finke dropped 14 inches below some type of attractor such as a castmaster or sweedish pimple. I know how many turns of the bail to get my bait hovering just inches of the bottom. We have been getting limits in a couple hours. I think the fish are a little bigger on average this year too
[signature]