"Mature perch chase juvenile smelt along the outer edges of weedlines in the bays, typically in 7 to 10 feet of water," he says. "A bobber rig with a small Lake Fork Tackle Live Baby Shad or Maki Plastic Super Jamei on a 1/4- to 1/16-ounce jig suspended off bottom is great then," he says, noting that smelt-imitating shades of greenish-white are deadly year-round.įirst-ice is Vladyka's top winter time. In spring, he targets rock shorelines and backwaters. "There are lots of 13- to 14-inchers, and you have a shot at even bigger fish." Guide James Vladyka, of Benson, Vermont, rates Lake Champlain as one of the region's powerhouses. "The top 10 teams all had great weights, and a buddy of mine iced one over 2 pounds." "The winners had over 10 pounds for their heaviest 10 fish," he says. As a measure of Simcoe's bounty, Wegman cites a derby last winter. During the summer, schools roam depths of 30 feet or more and remain catchable. But the spring bite yields some of the year's portliest perch, particularly in the shallow bays near Beaverton. Like many lakes, Simcoe sees most pressure during the hardwater season. "On a late-ice trip last winter, friends and I released many perch over 12 inches that coughed up round gobies." Wegman notes that fish are also on the jumbo's menu. Freshwater shrimp and other bite-sized invertebrates fuel the fishery. "Every year, it produces perch close to the Ontario record of 2.45 pounds, which was taken on Lake St. "The adage that big lakes produce big perch applies to Simcoe," he says. "It's a quality perch fishery that also produces quantity," says biologist and noted perch stalker Wil Wegman. One of the planet's premier perch producers is southern Ontario's Lake Simcoe.
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