Prime time perch

A feisty 12-inch yellow perch flopped around on the bare Lake Simcoe ice like an Australian Olympic break­dancer. Actually, it had better moves. After the barbless was removed, the heavy jig was sent back down to tempt another member of the school which had provided sudden and steady action. The first week of March is an exciting time to search for perch. This time of year, longer days and the first warm runoff remind these spring spawners to head toward breeding grounds. They need to bulk up for the rigors of spawning, so they feed actively. Perch respond to many offerings, from live bait to marabou jigs, spoons, and plastics. As the spawn approaches, yellows tend to school by size, making it easier to catch more and larger fish. Where to find the schools Before you can catch perch, you have to locate them — a task akin to finding a needle in a 744-square-kilometre haystack (my preferred perch water, Lake Simcoe). Perch spawn in rooted vegetation, submerged brush, and sunken logs in shallow lake areas or tributary streams with little current. Narrow your search to these areas. Twelve- to 20-foot flats near a river are a good starting point. Bottom matters Perch prefer sand and gravel for spawning. So, the second and more difficult step in finding that 10% of the water holding 90% of the fish is getting a closer look at the bottom. With some foresight and an underwater camera, you can start preparing for your March trip during the open-water sea­son (see Open water prep work below). If you don’t have a camera or time machine, you might still be able to gather clues before hit­ting the lake. With some effort, you can find maps from governmental agencies showing sand, gravel, or mud areas on the lake bottom. Open water prep work While moving between my bass spots in July, I periodically stop to lower an AquaVu camera and check what’s below. Any time I encounter an interesting bottom on a 12- to 20-foot flat, I mark a waypoint on the graph and plan a winter revisit. I note any spot that dif­fers from the surround­ing area: some rock when the rest looks like the Sahara, or weeds where it resembles the tar sands. These way­points help me decide where to drill the first hole. Or, cheat If pre-season camera scouting sounds like too much work,