Took my wife and granddaughter to Rockport this afternoon. Found the perch and they were hungry. Too bad they're so small. The little one is quite the fisherman, despite being only six years old. She caught the majority of the fish. My job was to keep the jigs tipped with nightcrawler and handle the fish they caught.
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Thanks for the report, what area of the lake did you find the perch and how deep was the water you were fishing in? WH2
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We fished the upper end, near the highway, just uplake from the last rocky shoreline, on the flat in ~10-12'. Not really sure it makes much difference. That's where I have done well in the past, but I think they are all over the upper end at that depth. It was interesting, because they appeared to be suspended well off the bottom. We caught quite a few only about 4' down. We were using crappie jigs tipped with nightcrawler. Good luck. Took me ~90 minutes to fillet the 43 perch we brought home. We released quite a few, as well as a few SMB. We were on the water under three hours.
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Thanks for the info Jon, one more question, how close were you to shore? A friend is shore bound and was asking me if he could catch perch from shore this time of the year.
You must be a pro at filleting fish to do that many in such a short amount of time. WH2
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I was quite close to shore, but I think it would be difficult to catch them from shore. You may be able to use a slip bobber rig, and should be able to cast that far, but the weeds in close were pretty thick. There was a couple fishing from shore in that very area, but they didn't catch anything while we were there.
A canoe would be ideal, and REI rents them. It would be well worth it. Just paddle out 30 yards, anchor over the fish and your friend should limit in short order. I bought an Old Town canoe about 20 years ago, and it was one of the best investments I've ever made. I hunt out of it mostly now, but before I had a boat I caught tons of fish in it. I spent many an evening up at Pineview for crappie, and even caught a 6lb 13oz walleye at Willard in it. It's been fishing as far north as Yellowstone Lake, and as far south as Lake Powell. I've used it hunting in Canada.
As for the filleting, I've become faster as time goes on. I tried my electric knife, but the fish were too small for the size blades I have. I just cut behind the gill plate, then in the midline back to the vent, then fillet off the side, cutting through the ribs, flip it and take off the skin, and finally just cut around the ribs. I used to go around the main ribs and wedge out the upper ribs (they're called epipleural ribs, if anybody cares), but it takes longer and you gain very little. It's okay for larger fish, but when you have a lot to do, I just want to get them done.
Tom Pettingill is way faster, and has given me good advice both on fishing and cleaning. He's retiring in December, and I'll miss him. He's always been very generous and helpful to me and I' sure many others. He will be a big loss to the Division.
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