text by Gord Pyzer photo by Gord Pyzer The Bite is On! Looking for some fast and furious fishing this winter? Giant whitefish and jumbo perch offer the hardwater season’s best non-stop action—and an endless supply of fresh, tasty fillets Most ice anglers are creatures of habit. Each winter, they show up on the same lakes at the same times and target the same species. And, they usually catch the same sorry sum of fish. If you identify all too well with this scenario, it’s time for a change. Heck, even if you walk tall in the winter and regularly bag big, it’s still fun trying something new. So, forget about those visions of lunker lake trout, giant walleye and massive pike. Instead, for a fun-filled change of pace this winter—not to mention out-of-this-world gourmet dining—think yellow perch and whitefish. You can find perch and whitefish in countless waterways, from one end of the country to the other. They’re usually the most abundant fish, and they bite heartily throughout the winter months. And daily creel limits, if they even exist, are often generous to a fault. Twice as nice: The author, Gord Pyzer, shows off a pair of winter whitefish Perch and whitefish are so overlooked, in fact, that non-stop, big-fish action is rarely difficult to find. Indeed, catching scads of bass-sized perch and dozens of six-pound whitefish is ridiculously easy in many waters—provided, of course, you know what you’re doing. THE PERCH PROPOSITION Part of the allure of pursuing perch in the winter is the cooperative nature of the yellow-and-black rascals. They’re social creatures that seem to enjoy each other’s company, so when you catch one, you can be certain there are plenty more in the immediate area—sometimes as many as 50 fish or more. The fact that perch travel in numbers contributes to another winter windfall. Curious to a fault, they’re quick to investigate almost anything that looks shiny, colourful or edible, then compete with one another to see which one can bite it first or eat it the fastest. Where to find ’em While it’s bad etiquette most of the time to drill holes too close to an angler who’s enjoying wild action, it’s a wise strategy when the fish are perch. Two anglers can even fish one hot hole together, alternating between hooking and landing perch, so as to keep the school excited. When you see the results, you won’t believe your eyes. Unlike walleye, perch tend not to play hide-and-seek. Instead of hugging bottom and forcing you to fine-tune your sonar-reading skills, they’ll usually hover at least a foot or more above the bed of the lake within easy sight of prying eyes. Where exactly you find them, however, depends on the type of lake. The bottom of bowl-shaped perch palaces such as Ontario’s Lake Erie and Manitoba’s Dauphin Lake are typical of the thousands of unstructured perch waters scattered across the country. They’re particularly prevalent in the lower half of the Prairies and the southern agricultural zones of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. In lakes such as these, where submerged points, rock reefs and boulder-strewn humps are as scarce as Siberian supermarkets, the perch are drawn to the deeper basins in the winter, especially if there’s sand grass growing on the bottom, or remnant green vegetation. Perch in these types of waters are typically mobile, so it pays for you to also stay on the move. Keep scouting, whether on foot or machine, drilling exploratory holes and searching with your sonar for visible fish activity before you actually decide to set up camp and fish seriously. In the thousands of multi-structured perch lakes that dot the Canadian Shield, on the other hand, the ideal places to look for fish are usually in and around hard-bottomed features such as points, bars, reefs and humps—anything that’s different from the surrounding area. The best structures usually lie adjacent to moderately deep water, typically in the 25- to 40-foot range. In these picture-postcard lakes, expect to find the perch close to the bottom. And even though they’ll still move about, it’s usually around the structures, not away from them. 1. PERCH: where to find 'em | 2. How to lure, top secret tactic 3. Hot spots, recipe 4. WHITEFISH: where to find 'em | 5. How to lure, top secret tactic 6. Hot spots, recipe