Understanding Perch Diets

So what makes one extreme shallows better than another? Bro says good weeds are paramount. “On the lakes I fish, weeds need to be alive, green. Chara grass, coontail, cabbage, whatever, just as long as it’s green.”

Top spots feature dead spires of bulrushes jousting through the ice. A picket fence of rushes combined with vivacious weeds is nearly surefire. Other laudable elements include random rocks, timber, and clearings amidst a forest of cover. The foremost areas are sizable, too, and cozy-up to a steep break. Back bays, flooded timber, and large shallow flats with scattered boulders mixed with sand can all be good. “Perch like big hunting grounds, so I find the widest weedy shallows along a good shoreline break,” he says.

Shallow usually translates into aggressive feeding. “I like lots of flashing and tumbling, like a willowleaf-style flash lure, and not too heavy—actually, pretty light for its size. And don’t be afraid of size when perch are on a baitfish bite.”

The Williams Whitefish and Quick Silver spoons are tailored to the situation. They fish large, flashing wildly, but without surplus weight. Bay de Noc Swedish Pimples are heavier, but still get it done. All of these can be tipped with maggots, a minnowhead, or a whole minnow.

Brosdahl uses 4-pound P-Line or 2-pound Berkley FireLine Crystal, always tying in a small barrel swivel to relieve line-twist. With P-Line he simply cuts in a 12-inch hunk off the main spool. A 2-foot fluorocarbon “shock leader” is needed when employing a less-forgiving superline like Berkley Crystal.

His act of jigging is quite animated, too. Attract and trigger—the perch are shallow to feed. Brosdahl likes sharp one-foot or better sweeps. At the apex, the lure is released to tumble without opposition.

Genes Influence Pant Size

You can’t ignore their lineage, their roots. At the end of the day, a perch is still a small walleye that tolerates light and bears no fangs. However, we tend to lump them in the breaded-and-fried category of panfish, sharing freezer space with crappies and bluegills. True, they are tasty and often behave like panfish, but equally as often perch play the roll of a shrunken walleye.

“People assume when they see my bigger jigging spoons and swimbaits tied on that I’m heading out for walleyes. Well, sometimes I am, but just as often I’m not,” says Brosdahl, referring to his upsized arsenal for perch.

Regardless of the lake, situation, or mood swings of his fishing partner, he always opens large and downsizes as necessary. “Why mess with little stuff if the fish are happy with big baits? Think big first, and then drop down if they aren’t taking the bait.”

Brosdahl believes that the biggest fish in a pod or school are the most antagonistic. So he cherry-picks, taking shots at those beloved jumbos first. Once the size structure diminishes he moves along to the next hole, or to a nearby, predrilled area. Eventually, he’ll probably run out of alpha-fatties and need to lower the bar. Or he might relocate altogether, if there’s another similar spot where he can break out the metal shop. “Fishing with walleye-sized lures doesn’t always get the most fish, but it usually takes the biggest,” he says.