Fall Lake Erie Perch Report

If you like to catch big perch this is the time of year to do it. The best place to find out where the big perch are is in the Lake Erie Perch Fishing Report.

Beginning in late September and through October the perch start to feed heavily in order to survive the winter. This is also the time that you will find big perch feeding along side the smaller perch that we catch all fishing season.

For most of the year we catch perch in the 8 to 10 inch range however the jumbos arrive late in the year. These fish are often in the 12 to 13 inch range with a few even bigger. There is a lot of speculation as to the location of these big fish the rest of the year. Most veteran fishermen believe they are in deep water away from or on the fringes of the smaller sized schools of perch.

These big perch are caught in the same general location year after year ,however there are only two ways to know where they are at a specific time. First you can be on the lake day in and day out looking for and locating them. Second you can follow the local fishing reports. The second is by far the cheaper of the two and consumes far less time.

The problem with fishing this time of year is the weather. The nights have started to cool off which makes the water temperature start to drop. While this water temperature drop is what turns the fish on it can make for cold hands when handling the fish. Also the weather starts to be cold, windy and just downright nasty as the season winds down.

It is not unusual to start your day with temperatures in the high 30’s and end it with the temperature in the 60’s which means you have to layer your clothes. Gloves are not an option because it is impossible to bait your hooks and handle the fish with gloves on.

The veteran fishermen look forward to this time of year. They will put up with the cold nasty weather and rough seas so they can stock their freezers with plenty of nice sized perch. A lot of boaters pull their boats before this fishing bonanza even gets underway which is their loss and our gain

You can expect 100’s of boats to be fishing during most of the year but this time of the year we pretty much have the lake to ourselves. Those few fishermen that brave the cold weather and rough seas are rewarded with some of the best fishing of the year.