Are the perch coming into Brest bay yet or is it too early

[andy capp]

Just wondering

[BAMBAM]

I was out there last night fishing walleyes, but never caught a perch on a nightcrawler the whole time.

I did manage 4 walleyes in 27 ft of water, and one big sheepshead on a deep diving thunderstick!!

Silver or rainbow trout color was the key.

[die4irish]

hey guys never fished there for perch usually go to the intake,so the question is have i been missing out?

[Tattoo Mike]

We didn't catch any perch either on Wednesday. Didn't see anyone get any either.

[tubejig]

TattooMike, where the hell have you been? Did you get ubducted again?:D

[Tattoo Mike]

Outta school and outta work for now. Seems like I have less time now than before though. How have you been Ken? Frank got a new boat, a 1973 18' aluminum starcraft with a 130 hp I/O for a grand. It runs like a champ and now were ready to do some real fishing.

[salmonslammer]

When would be a good time to try brest bay for the perch??? My gf loves to catch perch and I have been trying to get her on Erie for the last two years. Thinking about a camping trip to sterling sometime in mid sept????

[fishindude644]

HOW BIG OF A BOAT DO YOU HAVE? HOW FAR DO YOU WANT TO TRAVEL? DO YOU HAVE A GPS? DO YOU HAVE A FISH FINDER? LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE AND I WILL TRY TO HELP YOU OUT IF I CAN. IVE BEEN RUNNING TO A SPOT OUT BY THE SPUTNIK FOR THE PAST MONTH AND A HALF AND HAVE BEEN CATCHING NICE PERCH EVERY TIME I GO OUT. I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION FOR A WEEK SO I M GONNA HAVE TO GET BACK OUT MONDAY AND SEE IF THEY ARE STILL HOLDING THERE FOR ME.FISHMAN644@YAHOO.COM

[die4irish]

Just had a heart cath done yesterday so the doc says i cant be in the boat for a week so please keep me posted on the fishing so i dont lose track.

I'd really appreciate it

[fishindude644]

heard a couple reports of a good perch bite down by turtle island, but there wasnt too much size to them. im going to the sputnik mon morning weather permiting. ijust gave that day away at work.

[GONE FISHIN(LARRY)]

salmon slammer,mid sept is about perfect most years,they seem to work there way north,but usually by mid sept. there off stoney point point fermi area.they have been catching them all summer out by spudnick and the ohio shipping channel.by sept. they should be in michigan waters,the fishing stays good till ice in,.two years ago in dec. moonlighting I did pretty well on the perch.

[salmonslammer]

Moonlighting as in night fishing???

[rkropp]

What's the most common bait and tackle used for Erie perch?
Thaks
Rick

[fishindude644]

i use a perch rig/crappie rig. sinker on the bottom , one hook up about 6 inches then anothe up 6 inches from that tipped with a minnow. shiner/chub. let fall to the bottom then tighten it up just enough so the pole bends just a little at the peak of the waves but not enough to pull it off the bottom. they also use spreaders. let it fall to the bottom then crank it up 1 or 2 cranks. i like the first rig better because of the ability to keep it in the strike zone easier with little guess work. caught 40 or so today in about an hour then it shut right off to nothing. i moved 10 or 15 times trying to find them but someone turned the switch off

[GONE FISHIN(LARRY)]

salmonslammer,
moonlighting is a member of this site and one of my fishing buddies.
rkkropp,
minnows on spreaders or perch rigs,I prefer shinners but at times in the past few years they are hard to come by flatheads have worked, but in my opinon not as well.

[jstfish48162]

shiners are better, but they are so difficult to keep alive during these hotter days.

i have tried ice, bubbling oxygen tablets and even aerators......and all of that is while they are in a livewell with the aerator on constant.

any tips......or should i just buy the flatheads and chubs?

fishindude644.....were there any size to the perch you caught? good job on the catch.

[die4irish]

when their biting dead or alive it dosent matter,if their dead and the lakes flat as glass just jig'em.shinners work much better than the rest. I've had good luck sort of keeping them alive by getting one of them minnow buckets you keep in the water and tie off to the cleat

[fishindude644]

i use one of those water coolers you see on construction sites. they are orange with a white lid. i believe they are made by rubbermaid/gott. i put my minnows in a bucket when i get them from the store then once i get them to the boati put them in the water cooler . i have one of the areators you hook to your battery. it has a tube about 8 inches tall and really pumps the air into the cooler. i will run it until i get to my fishing spot then i use a seperate bucket for the minnows im fishing with and leave the remainder in the cooler. i freeze 20 oz. pop bottles for the minnows and when i stop to fish i put one in the cooler . when you turn on the aireator it helps keep the water cool. every 15 or 20 mins i check on the minnows and if they are coming to the top i turn the air back on. cover the cooler back up when your done getting minnows out so the water temp stays cool. i hope this helps. another thing you can try is once you get shiners from the bait store dump a bunch of ice in the bucket . it will stun them and when the water starts to warm they will come back to life.it has worked for me. hope this helps.

p.s. the cooler size is a 2 gallon with a handle on the top. it works great for ice fishing too. i got tired of getting water all over everything and it freezing up in the winter. dont have to worry about spilling them either because of the lid and if its cold the lid will sometimes freeze and all you have to do is pound on it and it will break free.

[Can't Touch This]

We caught a couple small ones, just 8 inchers. About a month ago, we were catching quite a few 10-12 inchers, then, we moved spots, stop catching them, and, just sat., we got into a few. I think by the edge of the shipping channels are proly just starting to get hot, in two weeks, it should be very hot. And, i think we will have to change species;)