Yellow Perch Fishing on Lake Simcoe Ice

Yellow Perch Fishing on Lake Simcoe IceI want to demonstrate the importance of using a portable fish finder while ice fishing for yellow perch on Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada.  Jumbo yellow perch abound in Lake Simcoe and can be readily caught ice fishing.

Ice thickness is well developed on Lake Simcoe usually by mid January and builds into February.  These are the times I venture out to have some fun and catch some great size yellow perch.
In this series of videos you will learn how to interpret a portable fish finder while ice fishing. You’ll see how I use my fish finder to help get more yellow perch on the ice during the brief flurry of activity as groups of perch move through.
 
Tip 1- Identify Bottom and Your Bait on Screen
​After drilling your hole through the ice, and putting the transducer into the hole you need to identify the bottom and depth of water.  The bottom will be shown as a solid thick red bar at the bottom of your screen.
Then you need to identify your bait on the screen, whether it is an ice fishing jig or sinker with a minnow you need to distinguish your bait from everything else.  Therefore, when you drop your bait into the water, follow it down the bottom and then lift it off the bottom about 1-2 feet so it is shows as a continuous separate line above the bottom.

​Tip 2-Watch the Colours Change on Your Screen While Perch Fishing
​When you are perch fishing, watch the screen with your bait in position. You will see fish come off the bottom toward your bait (as shown in the videos here). Any colourful signals (lines) between the bottom (solid thick red bar) and the top horizontal line are fish coming off the bottom.

Colours indicate how close the fish are to your bait.  A green colour indicates that the fish is still a fair distance away (off to the side), a yellow signal indicates the fish is still off to the side but  a bit closer and approaching the bait, a red signal indicates the fish is directly beneath you (right on the bait) and likely to strike.  Often I see the same signal change from green, to yellow to red indicating the perch saw the bait and came straight for it, suggesting it is actively feeding.

Tip 3 – Modify Your Fishing Techniques When Perch are Present
I often stop jigging or moving the bait when I see perch on the bottom near my bait.  I have noticed on the screen many times that jigging while a fish is following the bait can scare them off, so I simply hold it still and let the perch take the bait.  I find this gets better results than actively jigging when a fish is nearby.
Of course I actively jig when there are no fish in the area.  You need to attract fish from a distance and jigging actively is a good way to draw attention.
Tip 4- Know When to Set The Hook
​When you see the signal colour change from yellow to red you need to be prepared to set the hook, because that colour change suggests the fish is right on the bait and a strike is imminent.  I often watch the screen until I see the colour change to red.  When that happens, I switch my sights to the rod and watch as the fish pulls it down.  That’s when I set the hook!

Yellow Perch Fishing Lake Simcoe 2012-1
I really could not show this in the video as it is too difficult to fish, film and set the hook by myself. I will try to show the entire process in a future video, (if I get help from my buddy) so stay tuned!  See you on the hard water!
Here’s to Great Times and Tight Lines!

Maddalena Environmental Inc.
Al Maddalena