Finding plenty of perch for the pan

These little fish are probably the most plentiful fish in our Ontario waters. You can find them in nearly every water shed in our province. They are a major source of food for our predatory fish in our lakes and are one, if not the tastiest, fish to put on our plates. Perch are one of the easiest and fun fish to target under the ice. Knowing how to and where to catch them is also relatively easy and you can have an absolute blast filling your bucket.

Finding a good perch hotspot early and even all the way throughout the ice season means finding transition areas. Areas where schools of perch will constantly be filtering in and out of, looking to spawn and looking to eat. Look for areas just outside of the deep-water basin. On a recent outing, I decided to set up just outside of a weed edge on a shallow flat that led into the deep-water basin, hoping to intercept those schools of aggressive fish coming out of the deep water. Luckily, I hit them right on the head and it was one after the other.

Once you have drilled your main holes, always continue to drill a few holes around you. This is in case the fish move, and you can continue to hop holes and have them stay around you as long as possible. Also, drill holes deeper out into the basin in case the fish are hanging around on the deep side and you can easily move your setup.

-Kevin King

Read the full article about ice fishing for perch