Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2014 - 33

Yellow Perch

For Bluegills, I'll normally use wax worms, maggots,
mealworms, nightcrawlers or red worms on a #6 or #8
hook with 1 or 2 size BB splitshot, depending on how fast
I want it to get to the bottom. My favorite way to fish in
these conditions is to drop the bait straight down and reel
up a little bit after you feel the bait hit bottom. Your bait is
just off of the bottom. Then, hold the rod straight out and
feel for the bite. This is where the ultra-light rod will come
in handy for these normally aggressive biters when they
hit much lighter as the waters cool down. If you are not
good at detecting light hits, a small slip-rig bobber is really
helpful in this situation, especially after you locate fish at a
consistent depth.

Crappies

When it comes to crappies, the biggest factor in finding
crappies is the conditions on that particular day. During the
summer, crappies tend to suspend off of deeper structure or
deep drop-offs. As the water cools, fish tend to move around
based on the air temperature. On most cold (normally under
40-degrees F air temperature) or cloudy days, the fish tend to
move into deeper water between 20 and 40 feet in the main
creek channel, off shoreline points and deep bays and coves.
However, on warm (above 40-degrees F air temperature)
or sunny days, the crappies will move into shallower water,
where they will do their most aggressive feeding of the fall.
Typically, I'll use a #4 or #6 hook with 1 or 2 size BB
splitshot and a small minnow under a slip-rig bobber. If you
don't want to deal with bait and you know where the crappies
are located, miniature tube lures and marabou jigs work
well. When fishing deep water, I fish just off of the bottom.
Sometimes, I'll slowly troll along an area in hopes of finding
an active school. On warm or sunny days, I rig a bobber
about 4 to 5 feet above my bait to help detect the lighter
strikes that you normally see from this species, regardless
of the time of year. When you find one crappie, you will
usually find more nearby. Once you catch one, just go back
and re-fish that same area and chances are it will pay off with
several more crappies.

Yellow Perch tend to be the hardest to find as the fall
wears on. In the summer, they typically hang around
deep drop-offs and deep, weedy areas, but they move into
shallower water to feed around rocky shorelines in the fall.
However, as the water gets colder most of them will move
back into deeper water around the edges of weedy bays,
deep drop-offs and sand or mudflats that are typically in
about 20- to 40-feet of water.
My preferred method is to use a #4 or #6 hook with
either a red worm, nightcrawler, small minnow (around
2 to 2 ½ inches works best) or a small jig with 1 or 2 size
BB splitshot. I either fish the bait just off of the bottom
in the deeper water or troll them closer to the shallows.
When I have located a school of perch, I like to bounce
my baits off of the bottom to entice an aggressive strike.
Once the more aggressive fish have been caught, I will
use the same method that I use for Bluegills.
This fall when contemplating what species of fish to
go after, know that fishing for panfish is still a very viable
option. It can be
every bit as good,
if not better, than
focusing on them
at other times of
the year.

Bluegills will normally be found swimming around deep, sharp drop-offs, off of shoreline
points and in the deeper bays and coves of the lake throughout the fall.
PFBC website: www.fishandboat.com

Yellow Perch tend
to be the hardest to
find as the fall wears
on. In the summer,
they typically hang
around deep dropoffs and deep, weedy
areas, but they move
into shallower water
to feed around rocky
shorelines in the fall.

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * September/October 2014

33
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2014

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