One of the most popular spots for perch is off the Peninsula lighthouse in about 40 to 50 feet of water. Almost all perch fishing on Lake Erie is done the same way. Boats are at anchor and still fish. By far the most popular bait for perch is a live minnow.
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What is the best bait for perch fishing in Lake Erie?
Using perch spreaders or perch rigs with live or frozen emerald shiners are the best bait. If you happen to be using frozen minnows because live ones are hard to find, keep them frozen in a small cooler and just bring them out as you use them.
Are people catching perch in Lake Erie?
September and October are ideal for targeting Lake Erie Yellow Perch. Nothing beats this table fare. Fish range in size from 8-12 inches. Perch fishing can be very good and limit catches are very common.
Why are there no perch in Lake Erie?
A combination of factors over recent years, most notably poor hatches, has decimated the Lake Erie perch population, especially in the central basin, from Huron east to Fairport Harbor.
What is the best time to fish for perch?
Because perch live a life of danger, they favor day over night for feeding, and are most active just after sunrise and in the late afternoon, just before sundown. The only time you’ll find perch active after dark is during the spawn, when the spring water temps rise to between 44 and 55 degrees.
How many perch can you keep in Lake Erie?
It shall be unlawful for any one person to take or possess more than the maximum number of thirty yellow perch or six walleye in any one day regardless of zone combination.
What’s the best time to catch perch on Lake Erie?
Although Yellow Perch may be caught throughout the season the best time to fish are the months of April / May and August through October these periods produce predicatively larger fish year-after-year.
What size hooks for perch?
Hooks. Bait hooks ranging from size 4 to 8 are ideal for most of the baits used for perch fishing. Some prefer hooks on the larger side because they are easier to remove and less likely to be swallowed.
What smell do perch like?
Perch aren’t big on scent. Things like the size of your lure and sometimes color will be much more important. Maggots, mealworms, minnows, even perch eyes will all work.
Where is the best fishing on Lake Erie?
- Beaty Landing & Recreation Park.
- Cleveland Lakefront Metro Parks.
- Headlands Beach State Park.
- Sandusky River.
- East Harbor State Park.
- Tips for Fishing in Lake Erie.
- The Bottom Line.
What does Lake Erie perch taste like?
Yellow perch, also known as lake perch, has a mild, sweet flavor with a firm, flaky white flesh.
What is the biggest fish caught in Lake Erie?
The largest fish taken from Lake Erie was caught by in 1929 and weighed 216 pounds. Young sturgeon like the ones just released are protected from predators by sharp, bony plates called scutes.
How big do Lake Erie perch get?
Also referred to as the lake perch or ringed perch, the yellow perch is in the Percidae (perches and darters) family. It is a sport fish that usually measures 5-12 inches in length, but can reach 16 inches.
What is the daily walleye limit on Lake Erie?
The walleye daily limit on Lake Erie is six fish per angler with a 15-inch minimum length limit. Walleye hatch success has been exceptional for six of the past eight years. Anglers will mostly catch abundant 2- to 4-year-old-fish ranging from 15 to 22 inches.
What is the best bait for perch?
Perch fishing with worms tends to produce the best results, but maggots, prawns and lobworms are also amongst the best bait for catching perch. You can also try feeding the perch, spreading some maggots over the area you intend to fish. But don’t go overboard as perch are small and can fill themselves up quickly.
What depth do perch feed at?
The best spots for big yellow perch may be inshore near shallow breaks or in water as deep as 30ft / 9m, but most gather near underwater structures such as rocks, weed beds or channels. Check these structures, and if perch aren’t schooling there, drift with a bottom-bouncing bait rig until one turns up.
How do you target a large perch?

What is the deepest point of Lake Erie?
LAKE ERIE FACTS Lake Erie is very shallow on the Western Basin, but deeper on the eastern side of the lake near New York, northwestern Ohio and Pennsylvania. The deepest point in Lake Erie is 210 feet and is located within the Long Point Escarpment in the Eastern Erie Basin.
How often can you eat Lake Erie walleye?
The answer is yes! It is safe to eat Lake Erie walleye 52 meals a year, or an average of once a week. All fish from Lake Erie are safe to eat some of the time, but walleye are among the safest, covered only by the general “one meal a week” advisory that covers most game fish in Ohio.
Can you cull walleye on Lake Erie?
Yes as long as they are live and well.
What do yellow perch eat in Lake Erie?
Yellow perch feed extensively on aquatic insects and, as they get older, small fish of all species, including yellow perch. Feeding is most aggressive in the mornings and evenings.
What is the most common fish in Lake Erie?
- 1) Walleye (Sander vitreus)
- 2) Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
- 3) Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)
- 4) Yellow perch (Perca flavescens)
- 5) Northern pike (Esox lucius)
- 6) Brown trout (Salmo trutta)
- 7) Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)
- 8) Round goby (Neogobius melanostomius)
How do you rig for perch fishing?

What rod should you use for perch?
Perch fishing requires a lightweight rod. Rod strength depends on the size of the lures you will be casting. – “UL” (Ultra-light) rods: for casting small lures between 0.5g and 5g. They are particularly suitable for perch using small lures and soft lures with weighted jig heads between 1g and 5g.
Do perch like shrimp?
“Perch eat other invertebrates such as water boatmen, too, but their primary focus is freshwater shrimp.”