Perch fishing in winter without ice.

[iwilfish]

Why is it that no one talks about catching perch in open water in the winter? Is there something fundamentally different about perch eating habits if there is no ice over top of them?
I happen to live where there is no winter ice fishing unless I am willing to travel four or five hours one way.
I want to catch perch now.
My question is, has anyone had experience doing this in the winter in open water? I am wiling to concede that there may be something about open water that is too different from ice covered water, to expect to catch fish. On the surface however it seems like I should be able to anchor and jig, or use bait, and catch fish. In putting this out there I realize I have potentially tipped everyone else off that I am congenitally stupid, but my need to know has overridden my social self preservation instincts.
Has anyone caught perch in winter in open water and how did they do it? It is not necessary to refrain from mocking me if this situation demands it, but I would appreciate it if you can stand not to.

[G-Man]

Cast your eyes to the Lake Washington reports from last year and late fall/early winter this year. The formula for winter perch is pretty simple. Find the perch, they'll be between 60 and 120 feet down, and stay on top of them. I use a 1oz blade/cripple herring style jig in white to get the job done or one can use a dropshot rig with bait or white curly tailed grub. You might want to add a dropper hook with bait above the blade jig, kinda of like a halibut rig. The hardest part is finding the fish and staying on top of them. Sonar is a must and if you don't have a trolling motor with an anchor lock feature, bring some sea anchors/drift socks and be prepared to work the kicker.

[iwilfish]

thanks very much for the info. when I am ice fishing usu I encounter the perch near the bottom. if you were in a lake not as deep as lake washington might you just relate to the bottom? another thing I have noticed in ice fishing is the action seems to come in waves. the perch seems to work back through an area if you are in a good location. could you not do the same thing with open water?

[G-Man]

Perch will almost always be found in close proximity of the bottom, be it in 15' or 120' water. The challenge of keeping your jig/bait in front of the perch when they are 60+ feet down is pretty much wind dependent. I don't have a trolling motor with a virtual anchor setting so I usually rely on backing into the wind with the kicker motor as long as the waves aren't too big. On the big lake, you really need to move with the fish, if they leave a spot, they might not be back for weeks. This time of year they are keyed in on mysis shrimp but also feed on stickleback and smelt if the opportunity presents itself. Attached is an image of a mass of shrimp. Yes, it really was 15' thick and covered the bottom for almost 50 yards. If you find one, work the bottom around the edges for perch and use krill scent and/or shrimp meat to up your odds.

[iwilfish]

thank you again for the info. where incidentally did you pick up the stuff about what they eat this time of year? I'd really like to learn more about their habits and life cycle. Did you just pick it up or were there some specific sources you got it from?
what is the orange/red/ blue mass over top of the shrimp? i hope you don't mind me asking all these questions because I've got more. what kind of fish finder do you use and what features do you find most useful? i'm getting close to getting a good one and am trying to decide which features make sense for me.

[G-Man]

The easiest way to find out what they eat is to open them up after getting them into the boat. As for the image over the shrimp, I believe it is an old buoy line. The sonar unit that I am using is a Lowrance HD7. What you want in a sonar unit is a high resolution screen, the more pixels the better. Also, I find GPS mapping very useful and would not get a sonar unit without that function if you fish large bodies of water.

[iwilfish]

thanks again for the info.