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<\/a>A teeter perch is one who\u2019s belly is so big when you set them on the ice they don\u2019t teeter over! These pre-spawn perch are feeding heavily prior to the ice break up, but the forage these perch are after might surprise anglers.<\/p>\n
THE FORAGE BASE<\/p>\n
Lake Gogebic has a reputation for producing lots of walleye that run small in size. This is because the forage base of the lake is a little different than other lakes in the region. Walleye do well on a steady diet of mayfly nymphs often called wigglers. This abundant and protein rich forage helps these fish grow quickly, but for walleye once they reach a certain size a diet of aquatic insects doesn\u2019t allow them to continue growing rapidly.<\/p>\n
Walleye in Lake Gogebic struggle to gain size after they get about 13 to 15 inches in length. The reason is because the lake doesn\u2019t support a solid population of minnows that are required to help walleye pack on the pounds.<\/p>\n
Yellow perch on the other hand do amazingly well on a diet made up primarily of aquatic insects during the winter and early spring. The lack of minnows in Lake Gogebic doesn\u2019t prevent yellow perch from growing rapidly and also growing shoulders. These fish spend much of their time on the mid-lake mud flats that produce the most abundant numbers of mayfly larva.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s interesting to note that perch are not the only fish keying on Lake Gogebic\u2019s abundant supply of mayfly larva. White suckers also invade the same flats and these blunt nosed fish are very efficient at rooting the wigglers out of the muddy bottom. Schools of yellow perch slip in and clean up the left overs!<\/p>\n
CATCHING IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT<\/p>\n
Perch fishing on Lake Gogebic requires a different approach than the typical lake. \u201cYou can fish a minnow until you\u2019re blue in the face and not get a quality perch to bite,\u201d says local guide Jon Sibley, www.fishwithguy.com<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ve grown up on the lake and the way to catch these perch is to offer them their natural forage. Force feeding these perch minnows just doesn\u2019t work here.\u201d<\/p>\n The natural forage Sibley is referring to are using live wigglers for bait. Just using wigglers however doesn\u2019t guarantee fishing success. \u201cWigglers are the best bait for our perch fishing, but there is more to the puzzle than just buying wigglers and fishing them.\u201d<\/p>\n The biggest mistake anglers make according to Sibley is they jig to aggressively and too often. \u201cThe big perch aren\u2019t interested in aggressive jigging presentations,\u201d explains Sibley. \u201cTo get the bigger fish to bite requires a technique locally known as \u201cdead sticking\u201d or simply letting the wiggler rest motionless most of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Sibley uses rod holders to position his lines and sonar to monitor fish movements. \u201cWith my flasher running I know the instant a fish shows up below me,\u201d says Sibley.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I see a fish on the sonar, I pick up one of my rods and lightly wiggle the rod tip just enough to get the wiggler quivering. Sometimes this triggers a strike, but just as often the strike comes on the nearby dead stick that is sitting motionless.\u201d<\/p>\n Keeping the bait still or using very subtle movements is the key to getting bites on Lake Gogebic. Seeing those bites requires another critical piece of equipment known as a spring bobber.<\/p>\n \u201cLake Gogebic perch bite so lightly you can\u2019t tight line these fish and feel the bite,\u201d warns Sibley. \u201cIt takes a spring bobber to consistently detect bites.\u201d<\/p>\n Light line is also a must for targeting these super tanker perch. One and two pound test monofilament and fluorocarbon lines are necessary to generate the maximum number of bites. It also helps to fish the maximum number of lines allowed in Michigan which means fishing two traditional jigging sticks set up on rod holders and a tip-up as a third line.<\/p>\n PERCH FISHING WITH TIP-UPS<\/p>\n Most anglers don\u2019t think of tip-ups as a viable way to target perch, but when set up properly a tip-up becomes a very productive third line. On our trip to Lake Gogebic we were introduced to a new tip up produced in Wisconsin known as the Bite Me Tip-Up, www.boxtipups.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n These box style tip-ups feature a hyper sensitive trigger mechanism and reel. When a fish bites a counter balance weight on the trigger mechanism allows the tip-up to function with zero resistance . Once tripped, line plays off the reel smoothly so the fish has no clue that it is swimming away with a hook in it\u2019s mouth!<\/p>\n The box design also keeps snow from blowing into the hole and these tip-ups can also be heated by using a single charcoal briquette to prevent ice from forming in the hole.<\/p>\n The final piece of the puzzle when targeting perch and other light biting fish with the Bite Me Tip-up is using ultra light line and also very small treble hooks at the terminal end. For our perch fishing we were using No. 12 treble hooks and the smallest BB size shot possible to sink our wigglers to depth.<\/p>\n SPREADING OUT IS IMPORTANT<\/p>\n Another benefit of the tip-up rig is it helps anglers spread out their fishing lines so they are targeting more water. The perch of Lake Gogebic are constantly wandering the flats. Adult perch don\u2019t show up in huge schools, but instead travel in smaller pods of other adult fish. When anglers set up right next to one another they are effectively competing with themselves and hurting their ability to find and catch these perch.<\/p>\n The best strategy is for anglers to spread out on the flats and cover the most water possible. Being patient is also important because essentially the angler is waiting for fish to appear on the sonar.<\/p>\n The thing to keep in mind with Lake Gogebic perch is this is not a fishery where anglers can come and fill five gallon buckets. In fact, the perch limit on Lake Gogebic is only 25 fish a day and only five fish over 12 inches are allowed in the bag.<\/p>\n
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