Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Thursday, April 24, 2025
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By Louie Stout
We may be in dead of winter, but the impact of the weather over the next two months could have an impact on Lake Michigan perch fishery.
How so? Well, the past few winters were much milder and opened the door for remarkable perch fishing successes, especially in northwest Indiana waters.
Consider this – the Indiana DNR estimates some 70,000 perch were harvested in Hoosier waters last year– three times the 10 year average! Creel statistics show that 55 percent of those were taken in February and 35 percent in March. The remaining 10 percent were caught the rest of the year, with the bulk coming in July.
Milder weather in those early months enabled western Indiana anglers to get after a vulnerable adult perch population that groups up prior to the spawn.
Many of the perch caught there last year averaged a whopping 12 inches and are pre-spawn fish staging in deep clay flats in 50 to 60 feet of water.
Meanwhile, summertime anglers struggled, but Indiana Biologist Ben Dickinson believes that was largely due to weather patterns that pushed cold water farther offshore and away from traditional perch anglers.
The quality catches in late winter don’t seem to compute with DNR surveys that show spawn successes the last 10 or so years haven’t been very good.
“There was a great year class in 2015 and there have been a few blips here and there, but overall, not very good,” Dickinson said.
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Z-Man Report
Yellow Perch
Sometimes, it pays to pitch for panfish as if they’re merely miniaturized versions of their larger bass brethren. In a way, they are. As members of the (Centrarchidae) sunfish family, species like bluegills, crappies and bass, in fact, all share a common pedigree.
The connection is even closer than anglers realize, as each of these species regularly co-mingle around the same aquatic turf, feasting upon the very same prey. Crayfish, insect larvae and tiny shad and shiners all whet the appetites of these communal predators. Bass and big bluegills frequently stalk the same rock-strewn turf, nosing around in little nooks and crevices for concealed crayfish, or larval insects clinging to the hard cover. Same deal on boat docks.
Whether close to cover or cherry-picking emerging insects in the abyss, panfish frequently feed up and off bottom, leaning on their nearsighted talents to inspect potential prey, eye-to-eye.
Offering all the depth precision of a slip bobber or float rig, yet with the added ability to traverse the bottom terrain, micro-sized finesse rigs remain among the deadliest yet most overlooked panfish presentations of all. But accomplishing the valuable “hover” portion of the presentation relies solely on a new generation of specialized superplastics—exceedingly soft and lively, impossibly durable and perhaps most important, naturally buoyant.
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Seaguar Report
The panfish family includes several of freshwater's most popular and best-tasting fish. They are a favorite quarry from youngsters to experienced anglers looking for a fun fishing outing or to stock their freezer with tasty filets.
Their wide range makes them accessible to most anglers and they're generally eager to bite when you locate them. One of the greatest things about fishing for them is that it can be as straightforward or as complicated as you want to make it, but catching more and bigger panfish takes the right live bait or lure for the situation.
Minnesota-based fishing personality Nicole Jacobs and Wisconsin guide Vince Moldenhauer share their insights on bait selection for three popular panfish species.
Crappies
Crappie
A prized target everywhere, crappies are aggressive fish that are fun to catch and make for excellent table fare. Catching them is possible with a wide range of baits, depending on the season.
When the ice has just recently thawed early in the year, Nicole Jacobs keeps the ice fishing mindset with small ice fishing jigs when fishing for fun or guiding clients on Twin Cities Metro area lakes.
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St. Croix Report
Brian “Bro” Brosdahl
Brian “Bro” Brosdahl, a prolific fishing guide with a penchant for all things panfish has been on the leading edge of bluegill, crappie, and perch-fishing techniques and innovations for well over two decades now.
While Bro pursues panfish year-‘round, he gets particularly giddy come ice out.
“Wintertime sticks around for a long time in Northern Minnesota,” the St. Croix pro says. “While you’ve always got something going on beneath the ice, most northern anglers are eager to make the switch to open-water fishing as soon as the ice goes out.” And for good reason. Bro says the months of April, May, and June bring some of the best panfishing conditions and opportunities of the entire year.
“Of course you’ve got the unique aspects of the spawn – perch and crappies first and then the ‘gills – but those details aside, the common denominator for springtime panfishing is shallow water,” Bro advises. “It’s the first water to warm, so it’s where the weeds get growing and where concentrations of bait begin to get active. As a result, it’s where the panfish want to be, too.”
Bro says he spends ample time covering warming, shallow-water flats by casting micro jigs early in the season. “I’m looking for any weed growth,” he says. “The fish I’m hunting are often scattered in less than six feet of water. I’m usually searching with a Northland Thumper Jig or a Fire-Fly Jig tipped with a wax worm or a small crappie minnow.” Bro says he rigs with eight-pound Sunline green braid with a four-pound fluoro leader. His rod of choice is a 7’ light power, extra-fast action St. Croix spinning rod.
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By Louie Stout
Big Bluegill
There’s a movement afoot within the Michigan DNR to give more attention to the state’s panfish population.
And why shouldn’t there be more attention? Panfish, especially bluegills, are the most popular fish within inland waters.
Southwest Michigan biologist Matt Diana recognizes that and recently conducted a survey of state anglers to see if there was support for a more diverse management beyond statewide bag limits.
The survey indicated some anglers were in favor of even more restrictive bag limits on some lakes and better protection of larger size panfish.
Diana certainly isn’t proposing such changes on all lakes, but on a few targeted lakes that need more management control. He’s specifically interested in lakes with good panfish growth and those in which bluegills are stunted and over populated.