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Comment by John Sheehan on June 3, 2013 at 11:35am

Very interesting David!  I've certainly seen Yellow Perch spit up tiny shrimps in my boat while getting the hook out .I didn't think whites fed at night since the Yellows don't ,can't really say for certain though .

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on June 3, 2013 at 10:57am

By the sound of it, such an event is rare.

While unrelated, yellow and white perch are so alike in their daytime habit as to be considered in the same breath.

They are roving opportunists and known to prowl the shallows in Spring searching for food. For the most part, this means newly hatched insects or those adult forms that blossom so readily when the Year is new. Im supposing this relates to the shadfly you mentioned.
They then continue to feed on insects and larvae, along with bottom dwelling invertebrates, crustaceans, mollusks...right up until their favored food appears: small fishes.

Once the newly hatched and first year fish fry start to appear, these other forage sources take a back seat to more "piscatorial pursuits."

A probable exception that comes to mind seems common here on SC's Lake Murray. Each year, from early summer onward, the grass shrimp appear in large numbered after dark. Being photosensitive, the shrimp wait until night to swarm up, resulting in blooms that are said to blanket the near-shore waters. This pattern is probably acted out on all the large Southern impoundments.

As you might imagine, many of the fish in the lake take advantage of this glut, in particular the catfish. I've never seen it first hand, but the fishing reports always make mention of it. I'm certain the white perch don't miss a chance at the shrimps, since I'm pretty sure they feed at night.

If you were out at night during these times with a strong light, the shrimp should be easy to spot around grass beds weeds and in back coves. Find the shrimp, and the fish shouldn't be too far away.
(yellows, however, sleep at night and so might miss out altogether!)

Comment by John Sheehan on June 3, 2013 at 5:55am

Speaking of "WINDOW ".I read that when a shadfly hatch occurs it's a bonanza for Yellow Perch (Not sure about whites).Edward C,Janes  describes this scenario in his book, 'Fresh-Water Fishing Complete. The "boiling Cauldron" of  Perch feeding on shadflies had been experienced only twice by the author .Once in New York State and once in Michigan. After the ice out Perch spawn the fish are ravenous and capitalize on the shadfly hatch .Would love to experience this !

Comment by John Sheehan on May 29, 2013 at 8:38pm

I hear ya Jeffrey ,and with my contention  that faster is better for Whities ,one would have to strip the fly  in to the point of exhaustion! Better to use spinners and crankbaits on a high gear ratio spinning reel. Of course there may be a window when that's what they want ,a fly stripped quickly.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on May 29, 2013 at 5:08pm

Subsurface flies produce, since most of their invertebrate selections are nymphs and water-born larvae. They simply are not well known as surface feeders. Occasionally they are seen at the surface over deep water, when chasing bait fish. But it appears safe to say that, outside the spring window, fly fishing for whities is fruitless.
Much had to do with the behavior of fly line itself. Even sinking line is hard to get deep enough, fast enough. It is simply more effective, most of the year, to use other methods.
Your jigged spoon is one such technique that should work. Up until the baitfish have grown to significant size, these small fish comprise much of the diet of large whities in the open water habitat they favor.

Comment by John Sheehan on May 29, 2013 at 7:36am

Great account of the white Perch David ! I usually catch the most trolling over deeper water but have hooked a few of my best sized ones shallow in Spring . I'm reposting your comment here over at 'Piscatorial Pursuit of Perch' group!

 

Spinners and cranks account for the majority of my Whites but perhaps my recently found "Raising Sand" bottom technique with spoon and crawler piece should be employed more .Trolling with spinners and cranks to find and follow the schools and then locating astructure where they are at and using the "RS" technique is the plan for me to target Whites when they start showing themselves . I am surprised flies don't work better than you suggest since they eat a lot of insects!

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on May 29, 2013 at 6:41am

John, beyond what we already know, I found a couple things that might be useful.
1. White perch eat ALOT of insects.
When stomach contents are examined, larvae and their adult counterparts are significantly represented.
2. They are, essentially, deep water fish. 20-30, is not uncommon.
They spawn in shallow backwaters but the larger ones are found in deep water the rest of the year.
3. They are open water fishes. Traveling in large schools, they move from structure to structure, like humps, submerged points, etc.
4. They are hard to pattern. Being mobile opportunists, you can spend more time looking for them than fishing. If you have a consistent method, stick with it.
5. Don't plan on catching them on flies, except in the very small window around early spring breeding season.

Comment by John Sheehan on May 28, 2013 at 2:36pm

What did it have of interest to say about White Perch in particular,David?

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on February 13, 2013 at 1:35pm

Got me another good book last week, the one I mentioned previously;

"Americas Favorite Fishing: A Complete Guide to Panfishing," by F. Philip Rice."

I wanted it for the chapter on white perch, since so little is out there about these enigmatic fish. Overall it is a good book. It is not exceedingly detailed for any one species, as you might expect for something intended to cover all panfishing genres. But it offers something for everyone and it does help a fill in a few more gaps on white perch. Some pretty good "secrets" for crappie are in there, too...

Comment by John Sheehan on January 25, 2013 at 1:55pm

I am into all species I can find .Diversity floats my boat.I used to belong to a bass club and enjoyed tournys for awhile.Good memories winning first place with my brother and other wins were great .However there were some unenjoyable people to be around I must admit and ended up quitting and getting into Multi species and diverse fishing .It was mostly good while it lasted though.

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