Perch Fishing

Question
Hello I am from Northeast Ohio and got serious about fishing last summer.  Also last summer I bought a fishing kayak and am putting an anchor system on it.  My question is can I just go out into Lake Erie and cast out and catch perch?  Or do I need a fish finder to find a school and go from there.  
Thank you,
Shane

Answer
Shane,

I admire you greatly for being enthusiastic about kayak fishing. It is a sport that is increasing in popularity across the nation. I love doing it for the extra challenge. I have never fished lake Erie or a lake of that size, but I'm sure I can help you out. Perch are a relative of the Walleye (Percidae family), so they have some very similar tendencies. Perch generally like deeper colder water (8+ feet). They are generally pretty easy to catch in mass if you know what you are doing. Go to any structure that you know of that lies at the floor of the body of water you are fishing (logs, rocks, weeds), and throw your line near it. Perch especially like to hold close to weed patches so cast around those too. I would suggest using a small leadhead with a small 1-3 inch soft plastic minnow on it (leadhead of any shape, but ones that leave your jig tail up so they imitate a feeding fish are best). From what I know, perch are in abundance in lake Erie so you don't need a fishfinder, but if you have the resources to buy one do it so that you can atleast see what the floor looks like so you can find structure.

If fishin' was easy, everyone would be doing it

Good Luck
Slammin' Sammy