“Every year, I start out with the resolution that I’m going to buy just live bait and hooks. I don’t want to buy any other tackle” Kraig explains as he walks over to a fish pole sitting in the snow.
Kraig, Paul, and other members of Team SRG (Stripes are Good), a self named group of guys that get together on weekends to ice fish for perch on the Mississippi River love to keep it simple for the jumbos.
The virtues of Team SRG are: Be patient,keep it simple, and have fun.
Being patient means more perch for the guys. “This spot, (on the Mississippi River) has potential to produce and has produced large jumbos. You have to wait for them. If you think you can just walk down to the river, bang out a few holes and walk home with a bucket of fish, you got another thing coming. Perch fishing isn’t about running and gunning, it’s finesse and waiting for the packs to come through.” said Kraig as he watched Paul’s tip down drop rapidly. “A lot of guys forget that when they fish perch. They want it all and they want it now.” The trick for deep water perch is be patient and wait your turn. The perch tend to travel in packs and swim through. Punching excessive holes and moving too far will only cause the angler to miss the fish while potentially scaring the perch with the vibrations of the auger or vehicles.
Keeping it simple is one principle that I seem to have missed this year. Perching is about keeping it light and mobile. “You have to be able to move, you want to move” says Paul. “All you need is a small hook, a split shot, and minnow”. Simply set the basic rig of hook, sinker and rosie (an orange minnow) just a few inches from the bottom; or where the perch are suspended. Granted, it’s nice to have a couple jigs or spoons in the tackle box to switch the presentation up, but they really aren’t needed.
I spent a lot of time to find a product that I can use with my open face reel. I’ve looked at rod holders, tip-ups, and tip downs. Seems the only true method I could find in simplicity is to simply make a pile of snow on the ice and set my rod in the snow pile at 45* to see my rod tip. I would also recommend the Swish Rod as it is designed for perch fishing in deep water. The Swish Rod sits on a bi pod with the rod extended about 45* angle from the base. The spring bobber is highly visible form a distance, and the loose reel gives the perch some freedom to run before you set the hook.
The most important value team SRG reminded me was to HAVE FUN. “Fishing isn’t about catching a ton of fish. It’s about grilling brats and B.Sing the day away. This is why I like this spot” Kraig explained pointing around the bay at the different families and groups that were on the ice. “People come and go through out the day looking for fast fish, but they miss it”.
Lastly, to attack deep water perch I call it the “X- factor”. If you’ve been set up for a while and haven’t had any bites, move over about 30-40 yards, drill a hole. Keep some gear in your old spot and slowly migrate over. Avoid excessive hole drilling so you don’t disturb surface traveling minnows or active perch. You can go back and fourth through your abandoned holes to monitor for fish with your flasher.
