Photo courtesy of my friend Michael Thompson

Summer is winding down and that means one thing for those of us that fish the big waters around the mitten: YELLOW PERCH! These tasty toothless cousins of the walleye are in great abundance here in Michigan. The tactics used on the big water are a bit different than those on the inland lakes, but one thing they have in common though is that they will hit the same baits either live or artificial once you get on them.

To get us started on this journey of tracking down Bigwater perch we are going to have to cover the basic gear needed. Just like in my other 101 series we are going to start off with the Rods, Reels and lines.

Rods

One nice thing about perch fishing is that getting a perch rod doesn’t have to break the bank. Combos can be had for as little as $19.99. Yet for those guys looking to have that edge over all their other buddies in the boat, there are plenty of higher end options out there.

What I look for in a perch rod is one with great sensitivity. Now this is not to be mistaken for flexibility. For more on this see my fishing article on fishing rod basics. It has to have a light enough power to it so I can have fun with these guys, but also have enough strength so I can drop lead weights up to 1 ounce over the side of the boat. Notice I said drop not cast. You never want to cast a rod with more weight on the end of the rod than it is rated for, or you will break it.

A light power 6’6” rod that is made out of graphite seems to work best for me. But many anglers also use ultralight and medium lights for this fishing. Below is just a few of the recommendations, I made some that would match just about everyone’s budget. Just remember you get what you pay for. This is one place where I feel spending a little more on the rod is warranted. I will break them up into two lists: fiberglass/composite construction and graphite construction.

My scale Covered rod after a cleaning

Fiberglass/Composite

• Shakespeare Ugly Stik
• Shakespeare Ugly Stik Lite
• Shimano Solara
• Shimano Stimula

Graphite

• Daiwa Spinmatic-C Ultralight – Spinning Rods
• Shimano Convergence
• Fenwick HMX
• St. Croix Premier (my rod of choice right now)
• G-Loomis GL-2

Reels

The nice thing about reels here is that you don’t have to spend a ton of money. I like a Shimano 1000 sized reel here. I feel the taller spool gives me better line management and also even the cheaper reels seem to hold up better around this size than their smaller Ultralight reel brethren. In fact, I use a 10 year old Shimano AX 1000. I love this reel and if you see some of my smallie pictures you see I use that same reel as my wade fishing reel. Don’t worry there are plenty of other reels you can still get that will do the job.

• Shimano FX 1000
• Shimano Sienna FD
• Shimano Sahara
• Daiwa Regal
• Daiwa Exceler

Line

For years I have used mono fishing line for perch fishing. But over the last few years I have seen myself filling my reels with braided line. I have Power Pro on my reels right now in 8lb test 2 to 1 lb diameter. I am going to be giving some of the new Berkley NanoFil a try, just wanting to get my hands on some (hopefully really soon). I have also used many other brands of line both type and brand. Below are few choices over the years that have worked for me.

Mono

• Trilene XL (my top mono pick)
• Trilene Sensation
• Stren Original
• Stren Magnathin
• Sufix Elite

Braids

• Sufix Performance Braid
• Berkley Fireline
• Power Pro
• Spiderwire Stealth

Fluorocarbon

• P-Line Floroclear
• Berkley Vanish

Just keep in mind you’re going to be fishing fairly deep, sometimes upwards of 60 feet of water. So choose equipment you’re comfortable with. In Part two we are going to cover “Live bait: knowing your minnows and minnow care”.

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