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If there is a thing that can be more gear intensive than you think, it would be perch fishing. With all the small spoons, tiny jigs, the crazy assortment of baits, I find myself owning more perch hooks, than walleye or pike rigs. But the trick to consistently catching perch ice fishing is being able to feel their bite, which can be quite subtle at times. Small rods and light lines helped us feel the light bites of perch This is why I run light line, typically 4 pound mono, and I use those specialty jigs, which have a small hook and some serious weight packed into its tiny jig head. Wolfram jigs are a good example of this type of lure, but having some weight on your line is the real key. A heavy little jig gets the bait to the bottom, and keeps the line taunt, so I can feel every tiny little nibble. This is often all the perch are gonna give you. The advantages of the heavy little jig shine in deeper water situations, where the fish could be 15 or more feet down. Because it keeps the line tight, the bite is telegraphed right up to the rod tip, or your waiting hand. Small, but heavy, wolfram jigs allowed me to better detect the bite Tiny Len Thompson spoons tipped with maggots or mealworms is another great lure that achieves the same result, and one other outfit I’ve had a lot of luck with is putting a big split shot on the bottom and a foot to two up the line I tied a dropper with a size 6 or 8 single hook. My preferred hooks are the Gamakatsu, but any quality single hook will do. The weight gets me down to the bottom and keeps the line tight, while the dropper presents my bait, usually a pile of maggots, right in the sweet spot for waiting fish. The small Len Thompson spoon tipped with maggots was more than most perch could handle Baits are variable but the big three are maggots, mealworms, and tiny minnows. After that, trout worms, dew worms, and shrimp are all decent second choices. Do not go into the field without bait, or you’ll be battling hard to get any bites. Like Kim said on our perch trip, "the number of strikes is directly proportional to the amount of bait on your hook". Find the perch though, and you’re looking at a great day afield with tons and tons of catching, and boy, I can tell you from experience that sure is a lot of fun!
