Perch Jerking

Its spring and that means one thing, warm temps and a fantastic perch bite. Technichly we don't have perch, but thats what we call them here in south Louisiana. We have parts of the sunfish family, such as bluegill, shell crackers ,etc. In many places, such as the Atchafalaya basin these fish get really big. It is not uncommon to catch them in 1 lb range. No matter if you are fishing the marsh or basin, there are certain things to look for. In canals with lots grass, look for breaks or clearings in the grass. These fish will clean out an area of grass for their beds. Finding these beds will mean great catches. Another give away for finding schools of "bream" is when catapillars show up. They will eat the leaves off of trees and there will be bunches of hungry fish waiting for them to fall. Look for evidence of leaves that are being eaten and you will find fish under those trees. Spawning fish also love cypress knees. You may have to fish a bunch of trees in an area to find them, but once you do, it can mean loads fish. The popular goggle eye can be caught in these same areas. Typically in the marsh, the goggle eye spawn up against the many reeds. Finding these areas will mean putting many fish in the cooler. Best baits for catching numbers of panfish are jigs, beetle spins, popping bugs, live bait such as worms, crickets, baby crawfish, and grass shrimp. There are manufactured baits also, such as crappie nuggets and many others you can find at your local sporting goods store. You can also catch them on corn. Goggle eye have large mouths, but bluegill and sheelcrackers have smaller mouths. A 1/32oz jig with a size 6 hook works well for these fish with smaller mouths. Best color is usually black and chartreuse. When these fish are feeding on caterpillars, a solid black jig tail works well also. If the fish are feeding on crawfish, a red/chart or brown/chart works well. Its that perch jerking time of year, so get out to your favorite spot and take advantage of some hard pulling panfish. Best spots in this area would be Lake bouef, lake long/fields, Flat lake, bayou black, Union canals in amelia, grassy lake, lake Verret, and Bell river. Of course this can apply anywhere you fish. Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water.

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