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01/17/2018 11:00 PMLooking for a tasty and fun fish to catch and fill the wintry gaps in your schedule? Then white perch might be the answer. A perch is not a perch when it is a white perch (Marone americana). A distant relative to the striped bass (Marone saxatilis), only without the stripes, this smaller fish is a member of the temperate bass family and adapts equally well in salt water creeks and brackish water. Generally under two pounds, they can also acclimate quite well to freshwater habitats and are often found in land-locked inland lakes.
Since little is known about this species, they are a bit of a mystery and, therefore, often neglected by fishers. These opportunistic feeders will eat worms, grass shrimp, small crabs, and shiners, and will take to jigging, drifting, and normal bottom fishing. Bottom is the key. One-eighth to one-sixteenth of an ounce on six- to eight-pound test line is about where you want to be when jigging. The preference here is one-sixteenth and six-pound test. Productive colors will vary, including chartreuse, red, black, and yellow.
These schooling fish are forever on the lookout for food, and it may not be the best decision to remain stationary. When ice fishing, it’s best to spread out the holes covering various depths and ranges. However, using a quality depth sounder will help locate a school, and jigging will help keep them interested. If fishing the tidals, the beginning of the ebb is usually a good time to start since their food will be on the move, and that typically energizes these scrappers, creating a vigorous bite.
To start your exploration, locate a creek or cove off a main tidal river or an area that runs brackish. Keep in mind that, as a cousin to striped bass, these fish are anadromous, meaning they will spend most of their time in the marine environment and spawn in the freshwater. The Connecticut white perch fishery is open year-round, has a minimum size limit of seven inches and, like scup, supports a daily limit of 30 fish per angler. So, if you want a break from the winter chores, try your hand at fishing for white perch. They can usually be found until early spring.
On the Water
Fifty-degree weather and more than two inches of rain reduced mounds of snow to a fraction of their previous volume. Some of the downpour soaked into areas of less frozen ground, but not enough to curb the runoff and prevent lowland flooding. Rivers that were ice jammed and harbors that were encrusted and frozen saw some relief as ice packs shifted and partially broke apart, allowing water to flow a bit easier. Add in a very dense fog (even in the presence of 20-knot winds), and the early weekend was something to behold in a mid-January thaw. In the meantime, inshore coastal temperatures have been averaging in the low 30s.
Still, many lakes and ponds did not break apart and open up. Granted, the surfaces were messy and covered in slush, but a repeat of the recent deep freeze once again began to take hold. That boded well for ice fishers once the rain passed. New holes were punched and the search for winter fish was on. The shock of cold water was done and the search for food began in earnest. Re-freezing always has pitfalls, so put safety first, check ice thickness, and bring along a pair of safety awls.
In the larger lakes and coves of key tidal rivers, pike to 38 inches were caught, along with a few catfish. Walleye were flagged and jigged up at day’s end, often in depths less than 10 feet. If pickerel was the target goal, these aggressive feeders went to town on live shiners rigged on tip-ups and also took to shiny jigging lures tipped with half of a shiner.
The bulk of the fish caught through the hard water were largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappie, and sunfish. Winter is time for white perch action and these suspenders did not disappoint. Not surprisingly, some coves off the key tidal rivers had a striped bass or two flip a few flags. A heavier stick with flutter spoon would be the way to go if catching one of these linesiders is your goal. One striper at 28 inches is still the daily limit.
Atlantic salmon rivers continue to draw the dedicated hook jaw seekers. This is the time of year when one salmon per day is allowed and, even with the reduced stocking that the Legacy Program commands, broodstock fishers are enjoying the season. Although other New England states have discontinued their stocking program, Connecticut is maintaining enough of the program to “preserve the genetic integrity” of the Connecticut River strain. Additionally, those rivers and selected lakes and ponds that have an established fishery will continue to receive two- to five-pound fish in the two- to three-year-old class annually in support of recreational fishers. Quality salmon are being caught and providing excellent sport. To preserve the strain, any salmon caught in the Connecticut River must be returned immediately and unharmed.
Note: Email us pics of your catches to share with our USA and international fishing friends who keep up with the latest fishing news and frequent social media.
For all things fishy including flies, swing by the shop (203-245-8665) open seven days located at 21 Boston Post Road, Madison. Until next time from your Connecticut shoreline’s full-service fishing outfitter, where we don’t make the fisherman, we make the fisherman better...
Tight Lines,
Captain Morgan
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