Spoons and Perch

[cbassonafly]

Got out on the ice for the first time this season. Love fishing these Slender Spoons for perch and crappie []



Anybody else have success with spoons and panfish? I really fish them hard at the start of the season and have a good success.
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[RockyRaab]

A slender gold spoon with a 1" Gulp minnow?

Nah. Never works. On perch or big bluegill. And it doesn't work even better if you replace the treble with a single hook.

No secrets here. Move along now.
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[cbassonafly]

Never tried the Gulp Minnow... Guess I'll stay away from that [cool]
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[Springbuck]

I love em when they are pretty active. I used to get bored trying to get those tiny ice flies all the way 50 feet down at Pineview and then trying to figure out if you were on the bottom, too high, or just right.

I like those skinny spoons with a very small swivel between spoon and hook, and a single hook with a perch eye on. Gulp minnows never caught a lot of perch for me, more the Mantua and Deercreek trout, but I'll have to try again.


Oh, and I also learned to dropshot through the ice, sometimes with the spoon at the bottom and a TINY nuclear ant or ratfinkeeand maggot or waxie, in case they are picky.[]
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[wagdog]

I'm a spooner. Wait is that too much information? Sorry. Lame joke. Yep I love fishing spoons for panfish and larger fish as well. I always have a few in my arsenal for ice fishing. I used to use those BlueFox rattle flash spoons for everything from white bass, crappie, and perch to largemouth and rainbows. Gills would hit them too. I would also replace the treble hook with a single hook and tip it with a little sweetener so they would hang on longer. Something about the fall and flutter of a spoon seems to trigger the fish at times. I don't have any of those slender spoons but I hear good things.
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[cbassonafly]

I may just need to try a single hook this year. I love spoons for all types and I agree that flutter action seems to trigger bites.
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[wagdog]

I've done both the single hook thing and treble. I can't say one is better than the other unless I'm targeting bluegill. The single hook seems to work better (for me at least). Also those Gulp Minnows are gill candy in the 1 inch size. I also use the larger size (2-3 inchers) for bigger species. I had two UL trips for channel cats where I caught nearly all my channels on the big gulp minnows and like one or two on worms sweetened with crawdad oil. Weird how that happens sometimes.
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[k2muskie]

When targeting them Jumbos to keep the little ones away its Macks Sonic Bait Fish as my jigging spoon of choice.

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[wagdog]

Hey K2,
What size spoon were you using for these? I have fished spoons as heavy as an eighth of an ounce through the ice but not much heavier than that.
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[cbassonafly]

Those are some jumbo's!!! They would eat my little catch no problem. Bring on the cold......
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Hey Glen, I've been using big spoons for big perch for a whole lotta years. I use those lead jigging spoons up to 1/2 oz. and the "blade baits" in both 1/4 and 1/2 oz. I too prefer a single hook as you can see in the pics below.

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[hogstalker]

Those perch look like Idaho fish-- I bet if you cut them open a bunch of Potatoes come spillin out of there bellies.
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[fish_fear_me2]

They could be Yuba Perch from a few years back or even Deer Creek. Hard to say. Pat covers a lot of water.
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[k2muskie]

Hey wagdog 1/10 oz is what I use. There's some big Perch in Utah and north. It's finding the fish is what's key...slopping areas...weeds...perch and the big'ns will follow like an under water fence line...could be weeds a river/channel run is what we've noted...flats will have some also but far and few...but SBF jigging spoon is 1/10 oz..
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[Kalastaja]

Those are some dandy perch especially the big ol' gal in pic 3, an fish number 4 (if that's his real name) has great color. What causes the differences between the lighter and darker perch? I thought this may be due due to depth of the water they are found in, or the time of season. I hope one day to catch fish as consistently as you do!

Thanks
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[wagdog]

Thanks for the reply and porky perch pics Pat. I guess a big half ounce will get you through the dinks and down deep too. Like those colors too. Did I ever tell you my personal best Utah rainbow came through the ice on a pale perch jig? Just over two feet long and heavy. Right at six pounds. Ate that jig deep too. I like those blade baits you make. Much better paint job than some of the sonar knock offs.
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[wagdog]

Cool. Thanks for the info. I just need some ice that is thicker than three inches!
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[wagdog]

TubeDude can probably explain this better but my understanding is that a lot of fish have what is known as chromatophores. These are cells that contain pigment. They respond to light exposure and other stimulus. I'll never forget the very first time I caught a big bluegill through the ice. It was totally pink. It was also just under 9 inches and a keeper. I threw it on the ice to keep it cold while I jigged up some of its neighbors. Within a few minutes I noticed it now had the typical bluegill coloration that I was familiar with. I would imagine yellow perch do something similar.
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[TubeDude]

[quote Kalastaja]What causes the differences between the lighter and darker perch? I thought this may be due due to depth of the water they are found in, or the time of season. [/quote]

[#0000FF]As Wagdog mentioned, light intensity seems to play a large part in it. Many species of fish turn lighter or less patterned in deeper, darker water. And will often return to brighter colors when brought up into conditions with more direct light. Perch caught early in the morning...or on days when there is a lot of snow cover to reduce light...will usually be paler in color. Not always.[/#0000FF]
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Thanks. And congrats on the big 'bow. I have scored a lot of fish of all species on that pale perch color.

And yes, those little blade baits (Sonar style) really call in the predators. There are a lot of the commercial colors that work well but I'm kinda partial to those in my "basic food groups".
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