SaltyBuckster
New member
I'm awaitining the guys right now.Walker Lake full of perch and crappies.We'll see,lol.Pics a little later.
First Pa. Perch and Crappie Trip
- Thread starter SaltyBuckster
- Start date
CrappieHappy
Moderator
Bruce, dont kill the crappie chunking those 3 ouncers!!!! LOL
Jig Man
Active member
Good luck salty... Not sure whether 40 lb test will fit thru the of a #4 syckle hook though!!!
JSC
New member
I hope U took the right Jig Box.
SaltyBuckster
New member
Oh Yea,love perch fishing now.These are first that I have ever caught.First things first.About three miles into the trip a grey fox was laying next to the road.Had to stop and get me a tail.,lol.Got to the lake at about 42 degrees,thought I was infor a freeze out session.The fog lifted and the sun came out and while my fishing partner was rigging up his rods,my slip bobber minnow went down for the count,a legal crappie.If I was in Arizona he would gotten thrown back.Into the bucket he went.Next,my drop looped, double line went down while I was putting another minnow on the other line.Two little perch were hooked.They were about 7' long.He said that they were nice ones,lol.The whole day went like that.We ended up with using about 100 minnows,58 perch,13 crappie,maybe 10 small and largemouth bass.The bass got thrown back.Anything smaller then 5" on the perch got thrown back.An overall wonderfull day.
So for my first day of perch fishing i think i did good, look at my pics and see what u think
So for my first day of perch fishing i think i did good, look at my pics and see what u think
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SaltyBuckster
New member
That last shot with the perch in the bucket was probably 2 hours into the trip.We ended up with it full up to the ribbed part.
StumpHunter
Active member
Nice catch and congrats on the fox!!!!!!! Lot of flies and jigs right there.
CrappieHappy
Moderator
nice job.... yup, you got some nice hair now as well....
Jig Man
Active member
There is some good eating right there. Nice trip... And I picked up a fox a couple weeks ago that I ran over. Looking forward to seeing what you tye... Might steal some of your ideas!!!
LedHed
Sponsor
What a day - too much fun - congrats
SaltyBuckster
New member
It was a great day.Lots of non stop action.I only had a couple of 1/16 oz. jigs with me and the hooks were kinda big.Live and learn.I'm ready for the next time already.I never thought that I'de be using 3/4 oz. bank sinkers for 7" fish,lol.They hit pretty hard though.My Vintage Mitchell 308 got a workout.Now it's time to get my foxtail stretched and salted.
SaltyBuckster
New member
CrappieHappy
Moderator
them are itty bitty minnows. glad you could still manage to rig those up... LOL
Lost Pole
New member
Sounds like a great trip with that many in the bucket! Those perch good eating? Great pics.
SaltyBuckster
New member
Sopposedbly,lol.The best eating freshwater fish.I'll tell you in an hour or two.
SaltyBuckster
New member
The fish were very good.I liked the breaded fried flounder better though.I have to find a recipe without frying.Takes away from the fish,but yes,for a freshwater fish,very tastey.
Lost Pole
New member
Better than the sacs?
SaltyBuckster
New member
A lot more good sweet flavor then the crappie and the gills.Perch are my target for eating fish forever,lol.It only cost about $20 to go and get a mess of them too,lol.
papaperch
Active member
Nice day and once you get hoked on eating perch look out. I could be wrong on this but judging by the pics the fish you kept weren't kept in a cooler. If they were feel free to ignore my story and advice.
Advice : always put fish to be kept in ice laden cooler. I just use frozen plastic jugs for ice. Beats buying ice for every trip.
Story : Used to keep fish in floating basket or stringer. One day on lake Erie many years ago the perch fishing was so fast and furious. It became difficult to keep pace by putting them in basket. Since all my lunch was gone I just threw them in cooler so I could keep up. This was in dead of summer we fished right up to dark thirty and then had and 1- 1/2 hr trip home. Cleaning fish that night I noticed they looked like when I first caught them. When I ate these fish I also noticed an improvement in taste. Since that day I have always iced my fish. Sometimes early in the spring or late fall I use a spring net to keep fish in until I determine if I am going to catch enough to bother cleaning them. Once I hit more than six or so fish I pull the net and put in cooler. Only bad season is summer . If I have one of those two or three fish days then I end up cleaning them. No sense dumping dead fish back in lake.
Advice : always put fish to be kept in ice laden cooler. I just use frozen plastic jugs for ice. Beats buying ice for every trip.
Story : Used to keep fish in floating basket or stringer. One day on lake Erie many years ago the perch fishing was so fast and furious. It became difficult to keep pace by putting them in basket. Since all my lunch was gone I just threw them in cooler so I could keep up. This was in dead of summer we fished right up to dark thirty and then had and 1- 1/2 hr trip home. Cleaning fish that night I noticed they looked like when I first caught them. When I ate these fish I also noticed an improvement in taste. Since that day I have always iced my fish. Sometimes early in the spring or late fall I use a spring net to keep fish in until I determine if I am going to catch enough to bother cleaning them. Once I hit more than six or so fish I pull the net and put in cooler. Only bad season is summer . If I have one of those two or three fish days then I end up cleaning them. No sense dumping dead fish back in lake.
Looks like a fun day and some of those fish look pretty decent size too. My personal minimum size is 6.5"-7", depends on what lake i am fishing. The way they fillet, even the smaller fish have a good chunk of meat and can easily get all the belly meat.
Best freshwater fish? Thats a tough one, would say in the top 3 but hard to make that order, i like them all. Y.Perch have pretty firm meat similar to bluegill, where crappie are more flaky when you pull the meat apart after cooking.
Yes, ice them down. Just wait till you eat them after an ice fishing trip and they go straight from ~40 degree onto the ice and never thaw till you clean them -you will tell a difference in taste no doubt!
Best freshwater fish? Thats a tough one, would say in the top 3 but hard to make that order, i like them all. Y.Perch have pretty firm meat similar to bluegill, where crappie are more flaky when you pull the meat apart after cooking.
Yes, ice them down. Just wait till you eat them after an ice fishing trip and they go straight from ~40 degree onto the ice and never thaw till you clean them -you will tell a difference in taste no doubt!