When perch hit flash lures, there’s a distinct thunk that leaves no doubt what just happened or what to do next: Set the hook and let the games begin.
Last season, my dad and I met at a favorite perch lake. He went one way and I went another, the way we usually do, about 200 feet apart, each of us trying to locate a school of perch. Soon after I started jigging, a school moved under me—game on. I caught several, including two that measured 13 and 131⁄2 inches. They bit Northland’s 1/16-ounce Forage Minnow Jig’N Spoon, a flash lure they like to call “the most lifelike miniature-sized jigging spoon on the market.” I like it, too.
Blood flowing and my pride balloon full, I put the two sumo perch in a bucket of water for photos later, and sauntered over to show Dad. Invite him over my way.
He viewed the contents of my bucket pokerfaced and gave a nod of approval. I should have noticed his famous right-eye squint, but I was too excited, and said—like any In-Fisherman editor would say to his father— “Right now would be a good time for you to move over by me. I caught every one of these perch using a tiny Northland spoon. In fact,” I puffed up further, getting a bit carried away, “John Crane from Northland gave me a bunch of them, himself. I’ll give you a couple after we get your stuff moved. What d’ you say?”
He paused. “Jeff,” he said. “You already gave me a couple of those spoons Crane gave you.”
I did?
“And they’re working good over here, too,” he said, as he reached into his bucket, hiding his face. When he came up, I saw the squint, but it was too late. “Fourteen and a half inches,” he said, and slowly bent over the bucket again like he was already tired of lifting fish. Yikes. That fish was an inch longer than my biggest perch and much fatter—a photo fish for sure. What’s this—he’s got another one?
“Then I caught this 14-incher,” he says. ”Smaller, I know, but still nice, don’tcha think?” His smile was huge. Pausing one last time, he reached down into his bucket and pulled out the grand finale, the perch in the lead photo of this article. “And just before you walked over here, I caught this 151⁄2-incher on that Northland spoon, too. Tell that John Crane thanks.”
I packed up my stuff and moved closer to my dad’s holes.
Flash Lure Perch Packages
Although the length of our perch can vary, Dad and I agree that flash lures are great baits for attracting and triggering perch and do the best job of calling the fish in for a look, whether in deep, clear water, or shallow and stained water.
Jason Mitchell, a Devils Lake, North Dakota, guide (perchpatrol.com) and wintertime perch fan, concurs that flash lures are top lures for perch. “Spoons work so well for attracting perch. In clear water, even relatively small spoons can attract fish from quite a distance.
“Using finesse tactics, like a small jig tipped with a maggot, can produce perch. However, tiny jigs don’t have the attracting power compared to spoons,” he says. “And my experience is that finesse tactics encourage picky fish behavior, where aggressively jigging spoons not only trigger active perch but can also make negative fish active.”
