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Rock Port Perch
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12-29-2006, 12:47 AM
Ran up last night and fished for one hour until it was dark and iced 10 fish. ice was about 4-5 inches. My two buddies that were there for a few hours both caught 4 trout and 20 perch each. We were fishing 36feet of water.
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12-29-2006, 01:21 AM
sounds good i was heading there monday about were was you at with out giving up your secret spot
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12-29-2006, 04:06 AM
No secret... parked at the last restroom before the state park turn and walked out about 300 yards or so and droped down.
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12-29-2006, 05:11 AM
I am not familiar with the area. I am going up Saturday. I would like to get my 6 year old into the perch. Is the ICE safe? What jigs were you using? Did you go all the way to the bottom? Tipped with what?
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12-29-2006, 05:35 PM
[cool]I'm not hooked4life, but I think I can help you out with Rockport and perch fishing in general through the ice. From all of the reports I've heard (on this board, and from friends that have gone but not reported on here) the ice is good right now, but sometimes it can get a little soft near the edge with the warm temps we had the past few days. However, the ice is good with at least 4 inches. Perch in general (and at Rockport) generally hug the bottom of the lake because that's where there main food lies. When the bottom is sticky (muddy, etc.) then the perch are usually down there to eat the bloodworms (not a biologist here, but I believe they are the larvae form of mayflies), and other invertabrates that live and burrow in the mud down there. If the perch are hanging out just above a rocky bottom, they are usually after small crawdads that live in the rocks, and if it's a weedy bottom they are usually after the small minnows living there. However, as I mentioned, the perch through the ice generally are on or just above the bottom. You want to drop your jig down there all the way to the bottom (you'll know you are on the bottom when you flip your bail over and there is a ton of slack in your line). Once on the bottom real up til there's absolutely no slack in the line. At that point you are barely above the bottom. Then reel up a crank or two max and get ready, 'cause you are in the perch zone. However, this is all after you've drill holes and dropped your finder down there to locate a school of perch. You'll want to zoom in on the bottom to see the perch schools hugging the bottom. If you don't have a finder, good luck, because there isn't near as many perch as lived there two years ago and prior. As has been discussed many times on this board there was a large perch die-off in the Spring of '05. There's still plenty in there too catch, but you have to work to locate a school first, otherwise you will catch under five for the day like SO MANY reports on this and other sites last year indicated.
As for lures to use on the perchies, that's debatable. If you are in really deep water like 50+ ft, you might want to use a kastmaster or other spoon above or below your ice fly to get it down to the depths faster, but you want to use small glow ice flies in general like a Genz worm in chartruese or white. tip your fly with either a meal worm, wax worm, or gulp maggots. After catching one perch, try spooping out an eyeball and tip with that. Usually (but not always) it works better than the other baits mentioned. Those have been a perch killer for CBR, BassAckward and me over the years there. Good luck, and let me know if I can help further...I need to get up there myself this season. Still haven't been to the rock yet, but the tips mentioned above work year after year for them there... [signature]
12-29-2006, 05:47 PM
Do you think the ice will be safe to bring a 6 year old? Let me know. I am hoping.
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12-29-2006, 06:57 PM
The ice should be safe, except one must be careful right next to shore. This is likely because the water is rising.
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12-29-2006, 11:52 PM
I was out there today (Friday) and can tell you that the ice is crystal clear and 4" thick. A lot of wind has blown the snow off of the ice so be careful with your kid. Many people were slipping around today. I stayed at the same hole while I was there. As tempted as I was to move, patience paid off. The schools came to me (doesn't always work that way). I ended up with 11 and missed many strikes. I probably could have limited if I stayed longer, but I set a time limit and wanted to stick to it. Take lots of warm clothes (some windbreakers if you have them) with you. I saw several dads with kids who were cold leave earlier than they probably wanted to. Anyway, good luck and have fun.
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12-30-2006, 12:39 AM
I fished Rockport the 24th, 26th, and 29th.
24th: 20 perch, 2 browns(18"&14") 2 rainbows (14") 7:30-noonish 3-4 inches of ice used ice fly tipped with a meal worm. Tried perch eyes, but they didn't seem to work very well. Fast action, lots of trout swimming through, great time. Talked to pikeman, polokid, and fishluvr(I think) Good to see you guys! 26th: 8 perch, 1 brown (17"), 1 rainbow Much slower. 7:30-noonish 4 inches of ice Fished high & low, far & wide. Just wasn't happening. 29th(today) 16 perch, 0 trout(only one swim-by suspended and I missed the set AKA "jeffing") Definition: jeffing - the art of missing a hook set. Taught to me by IFG himself. 4 inches of ice. 7:30-11:00 Caught four perch on my first four drops. Then it died. Had to move till I found fish. Fair day. Lots of folks not catching much. I did pick up one golf ball though! Some guy was up on the turnout taking pot shots at me. That was different. You should be just fine with your son. The water is seeping up on the ice along the edges. Not as bad as it looks to get across. Today(29th)it was pretty solid. As mentioned it is very slick on the ice. Guess all the snow blew over to Denver. Nice size to the perch. Some real toads. The perch are not really hungry. Many of the perch I caught were puking up lots of little scuds/shrimp when they came up. It takes some coaxing to get them to bite. Once you have one on the ice get your jig back down as fast as possible. When a perch gets caught it causes quite a bit of action as you reel it up. I often had several perch follow for 5-10 feet as I pulled them up. It's not easy fishing, but it is fun when you find them! Sorry so long, Hope this helps, Chester [signature]
12-30-2006, 03:57 AM
Glad to hear the perch are there. Hoping to hit it next weekend.
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12-30-2006, 01:55 PM
I fished Rockport on the 27th with my brother in law and we managed to catch 3 trout and 4 perch. The ice was 3 inches and crystal clear. The edges were very soft and it was difficult to get on the ice. There was about a half inch of water on the ice which made it pretty slick. I would take a plank just to be safe when getting on the ice. The perch were biting very softly and a spring bobber would have been a great help. We caught all our fish on small pink and orang ice flies. The perch were right on the bottom and the trout were at no specific level. The wind blew all day which made it seem much colder than it was.
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12-30-2006, 11:04 PM
[cool]The perch are alway there, just not in the numbers we used to see 2 years ago and before. About half as many at most...
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12-30-2006, 11:36 PM
Thanks for all the helpful hints on how to catch perch. I went to Rock Port once last year and got skunked. But I have never fished for perch before so your tips have given me a better understanding on what to do.
Will be going up on Sunday (I hope) |
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