The ice fishing season is upon us once again. In some parts of the world, ice fishing has already begun. If you’re preparing to fish on the hard water, there’s a good chance you will want to grab some of the best ice fishing lures for perch. Yellow perch feed year round, which makes them a great fish for ice fishing.
Yellow perch aren’t the biggest fish around by any means, but don’t discount them. They are beautiful fish that also taste great should you decide to harvest a few. They’re also quite plentiful in a lot of waters. So if you get into a school of perch under the ice there is a good chance that you will catch quite a few in a relatively short amount of time.
Several state records for yellow perch have been broken in the last couple of years. Many of the records were broken by people who were ice fishing. That could mean that there are more people out on the hard water and aware of the records. I think it’s more likely a sign that yellow perch are getting bigger. Changes in weather patterns could have something to do with that. Whatever the case, you have a good chance at catching a big yellow perch through the ice these days. Especially if you use one of these lures.
Jigging Rap
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Rapala is world famous. They make great lures. Most of their lures are meant for the open water. The Jigging Rap is made for vertical jigging. That is easy to do when you are fishing through the ice since you are basically standing on the top of the fish you’re trying to catch.
Fishing the Jigging Rap is pretty simple. Just drop it down into the water and jig your rod every so often. Then drop your rod tip to give the lure some room to move. This animates the Jigging Rap and makes it seem alive. These work great when you are trying to pull in fish from a distance. So if you don’t see any fish on your flasher, try a Jigging Rap.
The Jigging Rap comes in a ton of colors. The traditional shades like perch work great. After all, yellow perch are actually voracious cannibals. The newer UV colors also work really well under the ice. There are times when colors like Green Tiger UV will outfish the more subtle and natural colors available. So it is a good idea to carry the Jigging Rap in at least a few different varieties.
K&E Moon Jigs
The K&E Moon Jig is an ice fishing classic. These little jigs come in a variety of colors. They can all work well for yellow perch, but I always seem to do best with yellow. The jigs have a big gold hook that is easy to bait. Tip one of these moon jigs with maggots or a juicy wax worm and drop it down to a school of yellow perch. Chances are you will soon be catching fish.
One thing to note about the Moon Jig is that it is oriented vertically. That is different from most jigs that are oriented horizontally. These jigs do not have a bend in the hook shank. So they sit straight up and down in the water. It looks different and it also catches fish. Especially yellow perch. Make sure you have something to break the paint out of the hook eye though. When you buy these the eye is usually caked shut.
K&E Skandia Pelkie Jigs
Skandia Pelkie Jigs by K&E are horizontally oriented. This can make a difference. When the water is very cold and the bite is slow, I usually prefer a horizontal jig. Especially if I am dead sticking or barely moving the jig in the water. I also want a small jig in those situations. Skandia Pelkie come in very small sizes that work wonders.
The Skandia is also made of tungsten. These sink faster than lead jigs. A tungsten jig gets down quicker than a lead jig of the same dimension too. On top of that, tungsten jigs show up a lot better on my flasher. So I do tend to use them whenever possible, even if they do cost a little more.
Gold is without a doubt my favorite color of Skandia jig. I have caught more yellow perch on ” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>gold Pelkie Skandia jigs than I can remember. I usually tip them with maggots or wax worms. Once I find the fish, it’s like a bonanza. I just drop the jig down and give it a few twitches and it’s fish on. The fire tiger color also works well, but I prefer gold for perch in most cases.
Custom Jigs Slender Spoon
The Slender Spoon might not look like much, but boy does it work wonders under the ice. This thin flutter spoon has all kinds of action. All you have to do is give your rod a twitch then drop it down. The spoon does the rest. I have caught all kinds of fish on these spoons. But I’ve really done well on yellow perch.
The Slender Spoon comes in a lot of different colors. I usually just stick to gold, but I have also caught a lot of fish on the gold tinged fire tiger color. I do tip the hooks with a couple of maggots or a wax worm in most cases. You could also use a piece of a minnow too.
One thing about the Slender Spoon is that it activates with the slightest motion or current. So on cold days with a slow bite you can actually just lower it down to the where the fish are and let it sit there. The little movements in the water and your line will be enough to entice a bite out of yellow perch if they are in the area.
VMC Resin Treble
Okay, these aren’t really lures, but they work so well that I have to include them here. The VMC Resin Treble is exactly what it sounds like. It is a VMC treble hook with some resin added down around the hook bend. It’s enough to bring in yellow perch that you otherwise might not catch.
Obviously you have to tip the VMC Resin Treble with something. If you wanted to jig this hook like a jig, you could use maggots or wax worms. You could even use a minnow. But if you want to jig, I think the two jigs I mentioned above would be better. The VMC Resin Treble really shines when it comes to fishing a tip-up.
Instead of using a plain treble hook on your tip-up, try a VMC Resin Treble. The bright colors and glow can attract fish including yellow perch from other areas. It really works wonders. At times it can even save the day. I usually tip these with a fathead minnow when I am fishing for yellow perch. I am rarely disappointed, and I bet the same will be true for you.
