seneca perch

[john1947]

Stopped in Roy's Marina today.They have been catching big jack perch for about a month now 

Glass factory Bay area and across the lake have benn good.Minnows and artificals seem to work well over forty feet.From what I heard it's a repeat from last years  good catch.The Marina does rent slips by the month resonable and it does save alot on hauling a boat.

[rdebadts]

Fished the south west part of the lake and did some perch in about 15-20 fow. After a fair amount of searching and ALOT of sorting through dinks, we did manage 15 or so decent 9-12 inch perch. Today was the first time I have ever caught dinks on Seneca, but after a skunk last time out I will take it. The fillets are safely in the freezer so life is good!! Typical march weather limited us a bit- dont know what I would do on Seneca with nice weather!?!

[Gator]

We've been to Seneca twice so far this year...usually we do very well, but not so much yet this year. As noted above, small male perch seem to be on the flats already,  but no bigger fish. I haven't heard from any of the usual suspects that the fishing has been easy. Of course, it never is at Seneca .I'm sure that perch are being caught, but they're not abundant in the shallows (ie <15') as of a week ago. It can't be too long before they move in, though.

[rdebadts]

Gator- believe it or not NONE of the keepers were males yesterday. We did drift out deeper but the hits stopped as soon as we got outside the weeds. I would say the catching was fairly easy, finding size was not...

[Sk8man]

Sounds as though they may have been sort of the first females into the shallows from deeper water. The females are almost always larger than the males. My hunch is you either didn't get out deep enough and/or weren't in the right spot (e.g. 40 plus ft. of water). Things have changed significantly since the arrival of the zebras and quagga mussels. 

[Lund SSS]

wonder what he mean's Gator, we don't know what were doing.....   :lol: 

Sounds as though they may have been sort of the first females into the shallows from deeper water. The females are almost always larger than the males. My hunch is you either didn't get out deep enough and/or weren't in the right spot (e.g. 40 plus ft. of water). Things have changed significantly since the arrival of the zebras and quagga mussels. 

[Sk8man]

That isn't what I meant at all....I was just saying that yes....a few of them (larger females) may have moved into the shallows now but apparently many are still in the deeper water since some folks have been KILLING them out deep for the last few MONTHS. AND... now that the mussels have f 'd things up in the lake the spots have changed. I've been fishing out there my whole life (over 60 years) and I can assure you things have changed greatly . I was not being critical of your fishing in any way.

Edited March 25, 2013 by Sk8man

[Gator]

No offense taken, SK8man...I have no particular regard for my own skill at catching Seneca perch, and I greatly respect those who put in the time to figure it out. Every dog has his day, though, and we've gotten lucky at times, particularly when the fish are in <20 fow. My original comment was meant to point out that a very large gathering of males ten days ago means that things are about to bust loose, given the slightest provocation (ie some sun on the shallows). It sounds like more recently that the smaller females have now joined the males (by smaller, I mean 10-12"). The big girls are still not quite there yet...

 

But, like you say, if you know how to fish them in the deep water and you know where they hang, then you're golden. I am unfortunately not that skilled nor blessed enough to have fished Seneca routinely when I was younger. So I am at the whims of the fish gods, for the most part.

 

No doubt, no matter how you cut it, Seneca is a tough lake. I know a guy who could put a hammer on a limit of 1 lb+ fish most any day, except that he doesn't cast unless they're 2 lb+, and he puts his time in finding them. But Joe Average fisherman is going to have a tough time finding them on a routine day, unless they've moved toward their traditional spawning habitat. Like anything else, experience pays off...

[rdebadts]

I think it is definitely gonna bust loose very soon, making those tasty buggers available to the novices of Seneca (though I am far from novice anywhere else!!). I think what I saw was the very start of good things to come. You Seneca guys are a special breed if you can figure out those perch on a day to day basis... Boy are they finicky!

[Lund SSS]

Don't sweat it Sk8man ... I'm just bust chops. If there's one thing I've taken away from many years of fishing Seneca... it's a love/hate relationship. NOWHERE else can a fisherman catch GIANT yellow perch. 2lbs. is not uncommon. Will be hitting it hard for the next 3 or 4 weeks.

That isn't what I meant at all....I was just saying that yes....a few of them (larger females) may have moved into the shallows now but apparently many are still in the deeper water since some folks have been KILLING them out deep for the last few MONTHS. AND... now that the mussels have f 'd things up in the lake the spots have changed. I've been fishing out there my whole life (over 60 years) and I can assure you things have changed greatly . I was not being critical of your fishing in any way.

[SMC481]

seneca perch are great but u cant catch them through the ice

Edited March 25, 2013 by SMC481

[Sk8man]

I'll bet there are some folks smirking right now because a lot of perch HAVE come through the ice on Seneca.....maybe not this year... but there are places to get the Seneca perch through the ice.... and there is nothing like it when you get into them...especially when you are by yourself

[mark p]

wheres the perch ,,this time of year

[Frogger]

Mark, about now there broken up pretty much. You can get them trolling cranks around the north end in about 15fow or if your luck enough can find some schools off pump house on intake. Will that be PayPal or visa?