Modified Perch Presentations That Produce

Catching perch is a kick, but finding them under the ice and figuring out what they want to eat is the challenge. Knowing what possible perch presentations could work and experimenting with specific baits and lure configurations allow anglers to figure out what perch want to eat. Once that happens, it’s generally all over but the cleaning.

The Best Perch Lure On Earth?

Perch tend to favor specific baits, which could be the bait we think should work, but it also could be the seemingly most illogical looking bait in your box. Picky perch drive anglers crazy, but it’s all part of being a perch chaser—and one of the main reasons they’re so fun to target through the ice.

Twenty some years before I started working for In-Fisherman, I read Editor In Chief Doug Stange’s original articles about the effectiveness of search lures (dropper rigs) for winter perch. He bravely coined them “quite possibly the best perch lure in the world.” Turns out the ol’ boy’s statement stuck.

The nature of perch makes the search lure combo ideal for attracting and triggering strikes, the two most critical considerations when targeting perch. Perch are curious fish, often willing to at least investigate things that may equate into a meal. On the other hand, perch can be fussy, often willing to eat only smaller meals.

Search lures incorporate the attracting qualities of a flash lure or swimming lure with the triggering qualities of a small jig packed with maggots or some other bait. The concept is simple: attract them with larger lures and trigger them to strike the smaller offering.

Nearly all flash and swimming lures suffice as an attractor, though some high-action baits have a tendency to tangle. Straight lures tend to fall quickly back into position and tangle less frequently. And although bent or super-action lures like the Acme Little Cleo or Custom Jigs and Spins’ Slender Spoon tend to create more action and flash, the side-to-side horizontal fall and wobble of these spoons tends to cause the dropper line to tangle with the main line.

Search lures can be made by replacing the treble from a 1/8- to 1/4-ounce straight lure, like a Bay De Noc Swedish Pimple, with a 21⁄2-inch portion of 4-pound mono and a 1/32- or 1/64-ounce jig or a #8 to #12 treble hook. The downside to making your own dropper rig is that a 2- to 4-inch piece of mono or fluorocarbon has little stretch, and stress on a short piece of line caused by a heavy perch can break the line.

Several manufactures now offer search lures and dropper rigs that can be attached to your favorite lure. Nils Master makes several versions of the Hali that are pre-rigged with a small metal chain. One of the best add-on droppers is Nils Master’s series of chain droppers. They’re durable and rarely tangle. Perch don’t mind the chain one iota. In fact, the gold chain allows baits to dangle more freely than a mono dropper, and the chain may actually serve as an attractor. Nils Master now offers replacement chain hooks, dropper chains rigged with small jigs, and different length replacement chains that allow for adding a specific size hook or jig.