Fishing Report WNY – April 2020
I started fun fishing this year for Perch with my sons the first couple weeks of April this year. The State of New York closed all fishing charters in late March of this year until further notice. I will keep you posted on my fun fishing exploits through this fishing season under the fishing report WNY banner.
The weather was much better earlier this month in April, then compared to the last few weeks of this month. We only fished a few times for Perch this April. Every time we went out, we caught fish and some days were much better than others. The best days to catch perch in the spring are when the weather has been nice for a couple days in a row. The sun drives the lake temperature up, making the fish more active, and more importantly, pleasant on the fisherman. This time of the year the water temperature in Lake Erie, is from the mid 30° to the mid 40° F. Any mistake you make, missing boat plug, or bad gas, or engine trouble can turn deadly due to exposure. There is no commercial boat towing service this time of the year, check your gear and pay attention to the weather!
Techniques used: we will fish with very light tackle, live bait, minnows. Typically, we search for the perch schools using our electronics to find the perch located near the bottom in 50 to 60 feet of water. We anchor the boat over the active feeding school of perch using the electric trolling motor. From there we either use traditional perch style rigs (I make my own) vertically. Or what I prefer, is to cast out from the boat, and slowly retrieve the perch rig back to boat. Fun!
Best advice is to move all the time. If your catch rate drops, less than a few fish in 20 minutes. Move. The move can be small, 21’, my boat length, or a 100 yards. I am constantly moving my boat trying to keep over the active perch, as the perch swim across the structure actively feeding. I try to keep directly over them. The perch schools are small to begin with; the active feeding portion of that school may be even smaller.
Have fun out there fishing, keep safe. Be courtesies to your fellow fisherman, you don’t have to be within 15’ of someone else’s boat.
Tight Lines
Captain Mark
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