jjdbike Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Hi folks I’m interested in some early spring light tackle action and some fresh fillets for the skillet. I used to catch them in the Susque below the Connewingo dam at the tail end of the shad run on twister tails. Also caught some monsters in the DE river in Philly in my buddy’s boat in mid-April while striper fishing w/ bloodworms but he no longer has that boat. I ilve approx 30 mins west of Philly PA but am willing to drive to NJ, DE or MD. Can anyone give me any hints on where & when I can find a decent population of white perch catchable from land (I don’t have a boat) that are safe to eat? I know spot burning is against rules and sucks. I don’t need specific spots, just generalities on where & when to look. PM’s are preferred. Thanks! JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopdeck Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 I don't think spot running counts for white perch. Are you sure your not confused and actually mean yellow perch. Just go to the delaware river, anywhere you like, and fish top, middle, or bottom. The river is loaded with them although they are not that big. Just how big was this big one that you caught? Are you sure you want to fish for white perch. I just never heard of anybody specifically wanting to go after and target white perch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albacized Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 I now live in Massachusetts and have lived here for a number of years now - but when I used to live in the DC area, the Potomac River used to be loaded with white perch during their spring run (coincided with the herring and striper spring run)...while you could probably find them at any spot where you can find space to fish, you can go to the bigger parks that aren't spot burns (Fletchers NW of town down to the park underneath the Wilson Bridge SE of town...although I'm not sure of the status of the latter park since they have rebuilt the bridge since I lived there) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjdbike Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Yes I'm sure I want to catch white perch. The ones I caught below connawingo were smallish but fun on ultralight trout rod on jigs. The ones the DE while striper fishing were huge. Like, I didn't know they got that big pull drag huge. Nice fillets for the skillet. Thanks JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philly Posted March 5, 2016 Report Share Posted March 5, 2016 I haven't done fished for them in a line time. I mainly fly fish now. I used to do well on decent size white perch, fishing some of the feeder rivers into the upper Chesapeake Bay. The Bohemia, Sassafras and Elk Rivers in MD around this time of year. Used mainly night crawlers. Bonus was I caught a lot of nice channel cats while fishing for the perch. They both were good eating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jckea Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 I literally cannot go fishing in the Delaware river without catching one in April. They seem to curiously be attracted to bloodworms. Especially the ones that I put on a hook. One final note though: the "huge" ones are usually egg-laden females. ...to be salt and light in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strike master Posted March 15, 2016 Report Share Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) Try using grass shrimp for bait. If you don't catch on that then they are not in the area. As far as location, try fishing the brackish parts of the Delaware. I bet bait and tackle shop owners love white perch in the spring cause they eat up the expensive blood worms used for stripers so anglers keep coming back for more. Edited March 15, 2016 by strike master Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazybellringer Posted March 16, 2016 Report Share Posted March 16, 2016 I literally cannot go fishing in the Delaware river without catching one in April. They seem to curiously be attracted to bloodworms. Especially the ones that I put on a hook. One final note though: the "huge" ones are usually egg-laden females. this ^ and it's not a light tackle game. you should be throwing 4 oz coin sinkers and circle hooks with blood worms. You can go through a whole box of bloods on perch but you have a shot at 40lb stripers as well. Once the herring show up towards the end of april your going to be catching perch or cats. Bass want the meat at that time. if i was fishing for perch i would use my 2-6 oz rod way over kill and a heavy coin sinker with bloods on a high low. the extra weight of the sinker and the stiff rod allow me to make the line as tight as possible. I hold the rod and if the fish farts on my blood worm i Can feel it. I proceed to set the hook with the intention of crossing their eyes. Not exactly what i would do for stripers. So bring two set ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjdbike Posted March 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2016 Thanks crazy. I’m guessing you’d use little bits of bloodworms? Cross their eyes w/ circles? What would you do differently w/ the other setup for stripers? JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazybellringer Posted March 16, 2016 Report Share Posted March 16, 2016 I use coin sinker on a slider rig with circles. The reason i set the hook on the perch is because they pick at it and they have small mouths. You could use a jhook but you might have issues if a striper picks it up and runs with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjdbike Posted March 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 Thanks Bro. I appreciate the detail. My spring break is coming up and & may try to blow some $ on bloodworms : ) & try for a few perch for the grill. I’ll hit the banks of the DE river. It’ll be the last week of March, hope it isn’t too early. Other than somehwere near Philly, I litterally have no idea where to go. If someone is willing to share general areas for white perch on the DE river in late March please PM me. JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopdeck Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 Why buy bloodworms at 12.00 a dozen to target white perch when your standard night crawlers, chicken livers and just about everything else work equally as well. They are not picky fish, they are abundant and abundantly stunted, tiny little bastards, who harass and harangue anything thrown in the river. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Tinman Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 Don't overlook artificials. My go to lure for white perch is a shad dart in 1/8 or 1/4 oz size. Look for ones with a barbed tail for soft plastic in either white painted lead or bare tin. - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishguts430 Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 Middle river maryland has a bunch as well. I know the big ones you are talking about. Iv caught them on full sized spinner baits while bass fishing. Also if you dont mind the drive codorus lake( lake marburg) over by hanover is loaded with them. If you fish middle river or the bay period my go to was a pearl white ( if you can find them) or white 2 inch grub. They are extremly fun on ultralight tackle. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjdbike Posted March 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2016 Middle river maryland has a bunch as well. I know the big ones you are talking about. Iv caught them on full sized spinner baits while bass fishing. Also if you dont mind the drive codorus lake( lake marburg) over by hanover is loaded with them. If you fish middle river or the bay period my go to was a pearl white ( if you can find them) or white 2 inch grub. They are extremly fun on ultralight tackle. Good luck! Don't overlook artificials. My go to lure for white perch is a shad dart in 1/8 or 1/4 oz size. Look for ones with a barbed tail for soft plastic in either white painted lead or bare tin. Thanks Dan. Yes I've caught them pretty good on twist tails and lead-heads. More fun on light tackle too. Thanks Middle river maryland has a bunch as well. I know the big ones you are talking about. Iv caught them on full sized spinner baits while bass fishing. Also if you dont mind the drive codorus lake( lake marburg) over by hanover is loaded with them. If you fish middle river or the bay period my go to was a pearl white ( if you can find them) or white 2 inch grub. They are extremly fun on ultralight tackle. Good luck! Wow fishguts, great info there. I may take to that ride to MD in a week & a half & poke around. Thanks a lot! I'm itchen to put a bend in a rod and toss some fresh fish on the grill. Yes they're a blast on light tackle & not bad on the grill or in the fryer. JD T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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