Winter White Perch on Dries

It's really nice to have a reliable winter perch hot spot just up the street, even if they are small landlocked ones not giant anadromous ones. For somebody that likes catching and eating perch it's like having a free buffet in town. Roll up, fill up a plate with as much as you can eat, then go back to the comfort of home in just five minutes... and with white perch being wildly overpopulated in these landlocked bodies of water, there is no concern of keeping a whole bucket full of them. There is no legal limit in lakes and ponds in CT... keep as many as you want, there really are too many. What's even nicer, this free buffet I've got isn't public. A handful of locals get to fish it and rarely is there more than one of us there at a time. Having a huge crowd would dampen the enjoyment quite a bit, and probably get this fishing spot shut down for good as well.

Seeking oxygen after dying blue-green algae causes massive dead zones, these perch flock to the tributaries, stacking up in relatively shallow water just to breath. They aren't there to eat, but they still have to or they'll die. They are so shallow it is often possible to get them to come to the surface to eat a small gurgler. This is an opportunity not often had through normal feeding circumstances in my area. I've heard of white perch rising to Hexegenia hatches elsewhere, but in CT a white perch on top is an anomaly. Except at this spot in the winter.

Catching a white perch on every cast is fun... catching white perch on every cast on topwater in January is just hilarious. 

Though all I've been taking home lately is the white perch, it isn't all I've seen or caught. In the years I've been hitting this spot I've seen carp, walleye, bass and pickerel in there with the perch. But this bluegill was a first.

As I fished some unseen predators did make occasional assaults on the schools. I'm lead to believe I ought to night fish the mouth of the creek on the net warm spell, hopefully that will result in something large. That would be pretty damn cool.

Oh, and before I forget. If you want to check out Leo's videos from his trip with Noah and I, here they are: 

Until next time.

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

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