The perch week in review

I've spent a week chasing perch with mixed results. Right now I'm in 12 to 14 feet along a deep weed line north of Kipling. Last Wednesday and Thursday we polar opposites and good examples. Wednesday produced a good catch with seventeen keepers. Thursday produced one 11 inch perch right away, then almost nothing over a 4 hour span. The problem seemed to be pike. A friend and I watched them on camera almost constantly while we fished. We identified 3 different pike by size and spot pattern, and they just hung around, occasionally swimming out of sight. They kept the perch away I suppose.

On Wednesday we had an interesting experience. We bought some four inch shiners at Bay View to use on tip-ups. We also used one on a simple hook and split rig inside the shanty. It immediately attracted perch, and we made a good catch. I usually run a salmon spoon or a Rat-L-Trap as an attractor when we first begin fishing. Larger perch came in and looked closely at the large shiner. Our best perch were caught on wigglers and perch minnows while the larger shiner was swimming around.

Have you ever tried a live perch hooked to a separate line to attract other perch and to see how they reacted?