Perch Fishing

[Sam]

My partner and I went out of Buttermilk Springs on Tablerock yesterday, the second such trip in the last few days. We're perch fishing - and I've got a "big fish story".

About mid-morning, throwing a small white crappie jig up near the rocks with an ultralight rig, I hooked a big fish. The next 30 minutes were spent trying to keep my rod from breaking, gaining a couple feet at a time, then losing 20 feet back on a run, chasing the fish out into deep water with the trolling motor, and uttering some words I learned in the Navy.

You guessed it - I finally exhausted the fish, got it to the top, and it wasn't the big catfish I'd been hoping for. It was the biggest carp I've ever seen. I mean it - the biggest one I've ever seen. We both figured it was a few inches over 4 feet long and maybe 30 pounds. It was so fought-down it laid on its side by the boat while I unhooked my crappie jig from the corner of its mouth with pliers and turned it loose. I was just about as tired as the fish was.

Now, I think carp are useless junk fish and I wish they weren't in the lakes - but I've gotta admit they put up a fight. That was some experience - that fish was both fast and strong. Goes to show what you can handle with a light 6' crappie pole, an ultralight spinning reel, 10 lb. PowerPro line, and open water to play in. That's the biggest fish I've ever caught outside of salt water.

As far as the perch fishing - if you've got kids now's the time to take them. We're catching Black Perch (green sunfish) on small white crappie jigs along chunk-rock bluffs near deep water. The bigger ones are concentrated in deep shady places near sunken logs and big rocks. The perch are just full of little crawdads - they're stocking up for winter, and I imagine they're biting that way all over the lake.

We're keeping anything over 8" and turning maybe 9 out of 10 back for being shorter than that. We brought 50 home the other day and almost as many yesterday, and we're catching and releasing a lot of short bass up to 14" as well - plus that big carp.

Constant action like that on light tackle sure makes for fun fishing trips - plus some tasty little perch filets.