Fall Perch Opportunities

By John Bergsma

Michigan’s Upper & Lower Best Bets

Escanaba’s Little Bay De Noc. Well this is probably the worst kept secret out there. The fall perch bite on the “Inner Bay” has been steadily improving for the past 3 years. I fished there once last fall and caught a bunch of very nice 9-11” perch. There are diehard perch guys who fish Little Bay all season long. The bite is certainly the best and most predictable in the months of September and October. Nice schools of perch come tight to shore or set up on shallow reefs from the Gladstone narrows north to the mouth of the Days river. These fish move around a little bit but are not hard to find with a good graph. Big schools of fish show up almost like weeds on the graph. Once you find them, it’s simply a case of hovering over them and dropping down on the school with a variety of baits. My favorite is a two-fisted approach of a slip bobber and minnow alongside a 2-hook perch rig. This allows you to concentrate on the perch rig while letting the bobber just do its thing. I have found minnows to be the best bait during the fall.

Saginaw Bay & Lake St. Clair: Large bodies of water such as these can be intimidating to the average angler. I found over time it’s best to split the lake into three different areas. Deep flat basins adjacent to shipping channels or deep holes, mid lake depth weed beds, and canals or marinas. As the water cools perch generally move from the deep basins into the weed beds. Right before ice the marinas and canals can be excellent. Late fall don’t forget for fish your favorite ice fishing holes. This fall is shaping up to be some of the best perch fishing in recent years. Get out there and fish. If you’re looking for a great perch charter, try Captain Eric Long from Long Line Charters.

Drummond Island: This fishery was the standard in the perch fishing world for 3 decades. Cormorants did them in for about 10 years, the great news is that this fishery is on the rebound! The mid-September to Late-October bite is a very good way to spend some quality time in one of the most beautiful places in Michigan! Perch will move in close in all of the major bays that surround the island. If I was going to choose a best one, it would either be Scotts or Maxton. The fishing is not complicated either. Many people will drift the shallows until they catch one or two in an area. You can fan cast single hook and minnow rigs with light split shot or fish directly below the boat with that or a two-hook perch rig.

If a great trip is in the plans, get a hold of Justin Bupp at Always an Adventure Charters.