Anchor Bay Perch Won't Bite!

[gilly]

Hey guys I get out ice fishing once every three years. My brother in law is starting to take an interest and we may get out more often. He saw perch in the shanty the other afternoon but they wouldn't bite. I have been hearing this from other guys as well. Does anyone have any tricks they can share? I was figuring on 2lb test flurocarbon for the stealth approach. Any ideas to get those tasty morsels biting? Thanks gilly

[ZobZob]

No ideas but I would like some myself.

I know exactly what you are talking about. I saw a decent amount of fish last weekend but they would all just come right up to my waxie and jig and stare, sometimes take a couple of light swipes, back off, and swim away.

I think it's just the weather right now and the fact that the ice is so thick.

They'll turn back on before long.

You gotta keep hope

Zob

[William H Bonney]

I caught a few, over the weekend. They ARE hungry, I split open the stomachs on them, trying to find some "clues". Only one fish had ANYTHING in its belly, and that was 1 minnow. I was shocked. I'd get ready on Anchor Bay, these perch are gettin' ready to go HOG wild,, real soon! Its gonna be FAST and FURIOUS in the next couple of weeks.:D

[Joe_G]

I found this on another web site. I'm gonna try it myself.........Buy a bag of pre-cooked frozen tiny shrimp. Thaw them out in warm water so they are soft enough to hook. Keep a rod handy with light
line and a VERY small plain hook. Thread the shrimp on the hook and put a splitshot up about a foot. Just enough to let it sink. If the water is shallow enough, avoid the splitshot. When your bait is being "stared at", slowly lower the shrimp/hook combo. Nine times out of ten, the perch will turn away from your minnow/wiggler/waxie and absolutely INHALE the shrimp.These fish want to eat, they are simply very suspicious. I've tried these shrimp on teardrops while jigging, and they work pretty well.

[wildboar6768]

What about the tiny shrimp in a tuna can? Anyone try those?

[William H Bonney]

Another thing I noticed was that, when I would reel my jigs in, fish would come boltin' in, outta nowhere! It was like they were just hangin' around, just outta sight and when I reeled in, they were like "where'd those jigs go?"

So I started takin' my lines outta the water, for like 5 or 10 minutes at a time, then droppin' them back in, at the same time. More than half the time I did that, fish would come in and smack somethin':rolleyes:

"Curiosity Killed The Perch"

[maddog]

wildboar I have tried them tiny shrimp in a can, but they seem to just fall apart. VERY hard to keep them on the hook. GOOD LUCK........Matt

[ZobZob]

cooked shrimp (very small)

I figured... worst case I could eat them if the perch weren't interested.

Zob

[William H Bonney]

Exactly,,, how small are these shrimp?

I would think best case scenario, they gotta be around the size of a quarter?????????

It seems like they'd be a little big,,,,, but hey,,, if it works,,,, it works!

[Joe_G]

The tiniest shrimp I have seen are in chinese eggrolls.....smaller than a waxworm, about the same size as a mousie. I plan on completely covering a small hook and trying it out this weekend.

[phishizm1]

Krogers has packages of frozen salad shrimp for $3.00. (last week they were 2 for1)

They are about the size of a large wax worm. Of course you can clip a bit off if you need to go smaller.

I did have some success using them (bare hook with sinker) and the fish did pick it off the bottom. I just did'nt see that many fish.

Maybe this weekend !

[gilly]

Well guys I ran out and tried the shrimp from the can before I waited for more posts. Sure enough they just crumble apart. Did get one to stay and the perch turned away. One of these days they have to turn on.