First Jumbo Perch For The Bucket

Finally, A nice slab perch from Lake Erie. Went out this morning in the early AM. Hit the piers before work. Bite was ok, lots of dinks. Landed one very nice football size Lake Erie Perch. A good sign of things to come. What I did notice was The Oldtimers were keeping buckets of small perch. I was frowning upon that so I decided to ask a long time old timer buddy why he was keeping them. His response was quite interesting. He stated he liked the little ones. More flavorful fillets, with less lake taste. He insisted that there were less contaminents in the chunks of meat than the larger fish. As a true old timer, he eats perch on a regular basis and consumes large amounts of Lake Erie fish. When I looked in his bucket, almost full by 7:00 am, tthere didn't seem to be much meat for battering and frying. So I asked him how he prepares the amall ones. He told me his secret. He makes pickled perch with the little ones. His creative recipe is as follows. He scales the fish and takes the head, tail, fins and entrails off. Rinses, and cuts the fish into small chunks bone and skin on. He then quickly fries the fish just enough to brown it. Then he puts them into a special recipe. 1 cup sugar, 1 cup white venegar, onions, and 1 tablespoon pickling spice. Keep them in the frige 5 days. Take out and enjoy. He says the flavor is remarkable and the vinegar softens the tiny bones making this a delicious treat. He eats them for breakfast before heading out to the pier. I believe this might be worth a try.

Perch Action Hot In Erie But On The Small Side

The action continues to improve for perch fishing in Presque Isle Bay. Headed to the pier before first light to get a good spot. For the next several weeks, I will be chasing the perch daily in the early morning hours before work. A flat bay this morning with little or no breeze. I will usually fish from 5:30am till my workday begins. Today I landed plenty of fish including perch, rock bass, and gobies. A sign that the water is warming up. About 30 fish in about 2 hours. Very small fish today though. Average size of five to six inches. No keepers for the bucket. Bite was amazing, could only keep one rod in the water. Soon the larger fish will move in. Will keep you posted on the current fishing conditions and action.

Perch Are Finally Arriving Off Lake Erie Bayfront

Finally, a few perch for the bucket. Got a chance to get out for a couple of hours in the early morning. The bite was on right at daylight. Caught about 25 perch. Problem was only three keepers for the bucket. Everyone lining up the piers were getting action, but again small fish. The good news is they are finally arriving and carrying quite an appetite. Very aggressive bite this morning, despite East winds and rough waters. Water temp still cold at 42. With wind, outside temp feels below freezing. Hard day to withstand the elements. But at least the bite is on. From prior experience, this is a good sign. The big "Lakers" will soon arrive following these smaller bay perch. Lakers, coming straight through the channel from Lake Erie are quite large often times averaging 12-14 inches. They are also more pale in color, less brilliant stripes than our native bay perch. The season has finally begun. I will give more updates this week and share how the bite is going.

Batter For The Pan

I just wanted to share some special batter recipes for those tasty panfish fillets. After a few days of successful fishing, you can enjoy a special Lake Erie Fish dinner. There are many ways to enjoy these fish, but I feel the only true way is to deep fry fillets. First, make sure you rinse fillets thoroughly and store properly. The taste of fresh fish is so much better than buying any fish from a store or restaurant. An avid angler knows this and can taste the difference. So when you are ready to take those fillets out of the fridge for frying, try these batter recipes.
Recipe 1 fresh panfish fillets, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons paprika, 12 oz of beer, shot of lemon juice. Combine ingredients into mixing bowl, and draw fillets carefully through beer batter until completely coated. Drop into oil. ( A nice basic beer batter recipe)
Recipe 2 fresh panfish fillets, 2 eggs, 1 cup of milk, teaspoon sage, teaspoon cayenne pepper, teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1 cup of flour. Combine ingredients in mixing bowl, place fillets in batter to stick to fish, Drop in oil. (This one is a bit spicy due to the pepper)
Recipe 3 fresh panfish fillets, 10 0z of potato chips chopped thoroughly, 1 teaspoon onion salt, 1 teaspoon garlic salt, 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning, 1 tablespoon parsley flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon grated Romano cheese, 4 oz milk, 1 egg. Combine ingredients and then roll in chopped up potato chips to evenly coat, drop into hot oil. (This one I created by experimenting with different ingredients)
These are my favorite three, hope you enjoy. I suggest trying many different batters to find the one that most pleases your family.

High Hopes For Upcoming Weekend

Looking into this weekend, I have high hopes for pan fishing action. The water temp is slowly rising and the fish should turn on. For perch, I would concentrate on the Bay front. Good spots to try early would be off the Condos, Liberty Park, Cherry Street, and Dobbins Landing. Go early to grab a good spot. Use lively minnows and move around if the bite is slow. Sometimes by simply moving a few yards can create good success. The perch schools move around in the bay and where they hit one day can change quickly the next day. Many times it is good to try a new spot away from the crowds. Try not just to follow the crowds and explore new piers and access points. For crappie, try off Presque Isle Bay. Points to try include The Marina, Misery Bay, Long Pond, and The Stinkhole. Use light line, small sharp hooks, and have an arsenal of baits. Unlike perch, crappie can be finicky. I have out fished others simply because I had a variety of baits to throw at them. Suggestions include small plain hook tipped with a minnow, mister twisters, small ice fishing jig heads, and hair jigs. My best productive colors usually tend to be white or chartreuse. Fish under a bobber and remember crappie are usually suspended so you don't want to be on the bottom. I usually only use a foot or so of lead under the bobber and have great success. Also remember to fish structure. Find the wood and heavy vegetation. Crappies are very elusive. They tend to turn on and off on a whim. So don't give up. I have been there in late morning when the sun starts to warm the surface water and all of a sudden they get active. And when you get one, you tend to fill a bucket because they are a tight schooling fish. For bluegill, try all long Presque Isle. I like to use an ultra light with 2 or 4 lb test. Slab bluegill are a great battle on ultralight tackle and usually are very receptive to hitting at all times of the day. Good action and nice eating for the pan. I like to use small minnows, jigs tipped with maggots, red worms, or small Mepps or Roostertails. So this weekend give pan fishing a try and see how the action is.

Perch Slow In The Bay

Just a quick report. Been walking around and scouting the last few days. Have not fished this week due to very poor reports. All fishermen I talked to targeting perch along the bay front are doing very poorly. Several guys had no bite at all. I saw a small number of keepers. Two per angler was the average. Very slow at this time. Some small perch have been more aggressive, but they have been dinks. Not really worth fighting the weather yet. We have had strong East winds and rain, making it difficult pier fishing weather. The water temp is still 36 degrees at this time. We need more daytime sun to warm that water and turn them on. Forecast is not good with snow expected tomorrow and low temps to start off the week. It looks like it will be another week before they get started. Will continue to scout the area and will post when the perch arrive.

Get Educated On Fishing

One way to greatly improve the prospects of a good day fishing is to do your homework. Learn from others and seek out news and reports from quality writers and fishermen. In the Erie, PA area, there are some good contacts you could reference. Mike Bleech, a local outdoors man and writer, knows his stuff. You can find his articles in the local newspaper The Erie Daily Times News. Has some great tips, and quality writing. Additionally, you can refer to fisherie.com. Lots of posts, lots of reports on Erie area fishing. Only problem is it is primarily for those after Steelhead. Not much else. If you are into the "Steel", check this site out. Also, I want to suggest a blog by local resident Jeff Tombaugh. You can find it at fishlakeerie.blogspot.com. He gives some excellent reports. Nice current photos and updates on stream conditions. He has a mix of Steelhead and other species as well. I know him personally, a long time friend. He is a local guy, been fishing this area his whole life. Definitely worth checking out. I also hope you continue to read this blog. I will continue to give reports and update often. I also enjoy writing about the history of the region, especially the Lake Erie fishermen. I will continue to seek out local lore and provide historical accounts of Great Lakes angling. Also, there are some great journals and magazines out there. I tend to read those specializing in our region. Read about new techniques and the latest tackle. Another thing you can do is go to an Outdoor Show. We have many in our region. Most of them are in the month of March, so give them a try. Talk to guides and charters at the show. Call your local bait shops. They get firsthand information about whats going on. I regularly call them to get updates. Importantly, go scouting. Talk a walk down the pier or visit a busy stream parking lot. Talk to the guys just finishing up and see how the bite was. So, researching can greatly enhance your chances of success. Find out where the fish are, what they are hitting on, and listen to experts. Do your homework and you will find more fish in your bucket.