Northwest Fishing Reports

I can never see a perch bit on my rod because they give such little bites. How do i know if they are biting when i cant see the pole move at all. Are there any methods or stike indicators or something i can use? (i use a 6'6 rod). And i don't have any fish finders or underwater cameras or sonars or anything like that.

When you pull up the hook and there is no bait left on it.

I havent perch fished, but some rods are stiffer than others, and some flex mostly at the tip, and some throughout the whole length of the pole, If you are using too heavy a rod, you might not be able to see or feel the bite from a small fish.

What weight and action type fishing rod are you fishing for perch with? Most times It shows on the rod itself.



The wikipedia article has quite a bit of information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_rod

Power

Also known as "power value" or "rod weight." Rods may be classified as Ultra-Light, Light, Medium-Light, Medium, Medium-Heavy, Heavy, Ultra-Heavy, or other similar combinations. Power is often an indicator of what types of fishing, species of fish, or size of fish a particular pole may be best used for. Ultra-light rods are suitable for catching small bait fish and also panfish, or situations where rod responsiveness is critical. Ultra-Heavy rods are used in deep sea fishing, surf fishing, or for heavy fish by weight. While manufaturers use various designations for a rod's power, there is no fixed standard, hence application of a particular power tag by a manufacturer is somewhat subjective. Any fish can be caught with any rod, but catching panfish on a heavy rod offers no sport whatsoever, and successfully landing a large fish on an ultralight rod requires supreme rod handling skills at best, and more frequently ends in broken tackle and a lost fish. Rods are best suited to the type of fishing they are intended for.
[edit] Action

"Action" refers to the responsiveness of the rod to bending force (bending curve), and the speed with which the rod returns to its neutral position. An action may be slow, medium, fast, or a combination (e.g. medium-fast.) Fast Action rods flex most in the tip section. Slow rods flex more towards the butt of the rod.

The construction material and construction method of a rod affects its action. Action, however, is also often a subjective description of a manufacturer; some manufacturers list the power value of the rod as its action. A "medium" action bamboo rod may have a faster action than a "fast" fiberglass rod. Action is also subjectively used by anglers, as an angler might compare a given rod as "faster" or "slower" than a different rod.

And this article might explain somethings as well.

http://www.abc-of-fishing.net/fishing-r ... istics.asp

IMO the best two ways for you are a float or a egg sinker.

egg sinker with a corkie at the hook works best for me.

nickbell wrote:I can never see a perch bit on my rod because they give such little bites. How do i know if they are biting when i cant see the pole move at all. Are there any methods or stike indicators or something i can use? (i use a 6'6 rod). And i don't have any fish finders or underwater cameras or sonars or anything like that.

Hello Nickbell, I'm not a hard core perch fisherman, but here is what works for me. Thru the ice: Depending on the depth of the water (i go with the lightest jig I can get away with), use from 1/64 to 1/16 oz tube jig head. use 4# line if conditions allow, or 2# if there is no structure to worry about. You will need the lightest action rod you can get (wally world specials are usually pretty cheap). The reason for the tube jig is you can push the bait up over the lead head, so no head exposed. Then when you are all baited up, drop the offering down to where you suspect the perch are. I like to let it sink all the way to the bottom (or until I get the first bite) watching the line where it enters the water. When it stops sinking, you are either on bottom or have been bit. Assuming you have reached bottom, I like to do a couple of reel cranks let it sit for 10 seconds or so, then very gently twitch the rod "Tip". then slowly reel a couple of cranks. Do this until you get back up, then repeat the process. Some people like to drop the bait in the water, and wait until the perch decide to bite, but I like t o be more interactive with the fishing (patience isn't one of my strong points). Most of my perch bites have been when the bait starts to move after being twitched or stationary. When you catch the first perch, use the eyes for bait. The eyes are "Sometimes" the hottest bait around. It Depends on how active the perch are, but usually I will just feel the heaviness (slight rod tip drop) when I slowly reel a couple of cranks, instead of an Actual Bite. But there are times when they are very agressive and you have no doubt when they bite. But not usually. Rember, This is what has worked for me in the past, and everyone has their own technique, so I hope you get more replies to your question. So in a nutshell. Light line, light sensitive rod, light weights, and watch your line where it enters the water. OH, and don't jerk the rod like you are setting the hook on a bass. Just a gentle (but quick) rod tip lift is all that is needed..
To remove the eyeballs, a "Large" paperclip is an ideal tool.
Good luck on your perch catching, and look forward to your postings.

Along with whats been already mentioned; stay with the jig/lure/bait. What that means is keep the slack out of the line at all times. Watch your line and rod tip. You'll see a bite far more often than you'll feel a solid take down.

LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT as mentioned wally world has some really light cheap rods. Ive also seen some tiny kid rods at work sports and more that would be perfect for fishing for perch. Jigging is a good way because you got your hand on the rod and working it up and down. You may intice a bite and youll feel em pretty easy. I like to fish my pearch like my crappie light tube skirt or jig tipped with worm under a light slip bobber. Fish it in as much structure as you can find and Ive had a lot of luck with this. My kids love fishing like this because you can get on a school and its one after another. Alot of fun for them. Good luck to you.

If you are ice fishing use any type of spring bobber such as; http://www.sportsauthority.com/product/ ... =438476146

If you are fishing off the boat, then use at least a light pole, similar to those trout poles that they sell for like $30. Easy to detect bite on them.

Typically the perch either bite really softly or very hard. If your not sure if you have a fish on then lift up your pole and if nothing is on let it back down.

Use a bobber or a strike indicator with 2 to 4lb test line/leader, only one split shot and an ultra light to light rod. or... You might just take a wrap of line around your pinky finger and you will feel the bite also. Good luck to you. Steve

i have used a med rod and had no prob

[quote="wolverine"] Along with whats been already mentioned]

This will really help. If you're currently using mono, you might want to consider fluorocarbon or braid. Both are better at transmitting feedback to you when the line is taut compared to mono. It'd turn an ugly stick into a loomis imx.

(lite is right) when it comes to lite biters. everything mention'd will put more fish on ice, boat and shore. learn to micro fish and you will find more fish at the bottom of your bucket. i find that slowly moving the pole up and down will let you feel a lite bite. which means they just suck it in with out moving and will spit it out if you don't set the hook quickly.

My daughter killed them with her spider man pole this past summer. Bobber + split shot + worm.

contrary to what others posted above, I like to fish with a bit of slack/bow on my line. when they bite, just watch for your slack line to twitch. I find it easier to detect bites that way, as opposed to keeping a tight line and watching for your rod tip to move, and the fish feel no resistance. Often if you keep your line tight, by the time they (or other fish) move your rod tip, they would have felt the resistance and dropped the bait.

Having a hi-vis line (like fluorescent blue) helps in seeing your line twitch.

No problem with this slack-line setup catching a bucket load of perchies in lake washington.

Shad_Eating_Grin wrote:contrary to what others posted above, I like to fish with a bit of slack/bow on my line. when they bite, just watch for your slack line to twitch. I find it easier to detect bites that way, as opposed to keeping a tight line and watching for your rod tip to move, and the fish feel no resistance. Often if you keep your line tight, by the time they (or other fish) move your rod tip, they would have felt the resistance and dropped the bait.

Having a hi-vis line (like fluorescent blue) helps in seeing your line twitch.

No problem with this slack-line setup catching a bucket load of perchies in lake washington.

as i am mostly a shore fisher, this is also a good way to detect a bite in open water. as far as what i said earlier, i had ice fishing in mind.

When I fish the Canal area I find the Perch really bite hard.In the open lake its a softer bite.I usually use a double worm hook leaders with weight on the bottom.That way you feel the bite with no weight interfeering with the bites.