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crowded with fishermen, you can
probably find some privately-owned
lakes with reasonable fees. After de-
ciding on a certain body of water,
you still need to find the best spots.
Perch congregate near protective
cover and are seldom found in open
water. They need a weed bed, sunk-
en bush or tree, jumble of rocks or
similar cover to dodge into when
a bigger fish, heron or snake comes
around with a hungry look. Also,
the aquatic insects, snails, worms
and small minnows that the perch
feed upon are found in the same
type of underwater cover. Look
around the lake of your choice for
such spots; an hour or so used to
find good cover can save hours of
wasted fishing time where there just
isn't any cover. Try to find several
areas with good cover. You'll want
to move from one to another when
you're fishing.
The proper tackle is the next prob-
lem. Perch can be taken with almost
any kind of tackle from kite string,
a bent pin and a willow limb, to a
fifty dollar fly rod outfit. An excel-
lent outfit, aimed strictly at perch
fishing, is simple: a one-piece cane
pole about 12 feet long, 25 feet of
braided nylon line of about 10- or
15-pound test, a split shot sinker
and a long shank, size 8 hook. Many
"furnished" lines in complete pack-
ages are to be found in tackle shops.
The jointed, two or three-piece poles
are too heavy and the ferrule joints
often wobble and slip; the lines are
too heavy and usually black or white,
enough to scare even a perch; the
red and green wooden floats are too
heavy and slow down the gentle-
firm, pull-jerk needed to hook a
perch; the hooks are almost always
far too large.
A homemade outfit is simple to
by AL FLURY
I&E Officer, LaPorte
prepare. To make up a good perch
rig, tie the end of your green or gray
line to the pole about two feet above
the butt end just below a node and
then make a single loop of the line
around the pole behind each node,
two feet to the tip. (This is just
insurance against an occasional bass
or catfish breaking the pole and get-
ting away.) The tip of the pole
should be about half as big around
as a lead pencil. Wrap the line
a
wrong
right
halfhitch
around the tip seve al times d tie
it with two or thre overha hitch-
es. Cut the fishin end o e line off
so that it will be out a foot or
eighteen inches shorter than the
pole. This length allows efficient
casting and ease in retrieving the
hook for rebaiting. Tie the hook on
the end of the line and clinch a
buckshot-size split-shot on the line
about six inches above the hook.
If you insist on using a cork, get
a small one. The round, unpainted
ones about an inch in diameter are
as good as any. Before putting on
the hook and sinker, run the line
through the hole in the cork and
push in the wooden peg so that the
hook will hang about three feet
deep. Now you're ready to bait.
As with tackle, there are several
kinds of baits that will catch perch,
but the common earthworm is by
far the best. Small worms two or
three inches long are better than
the large ones; you can dig them
from your garden, grow them in a
worm bed or buy them packaged at
bait stores near any lake with public
fishing. A whole worm strung or
looped onto the hook is not only an
unnecessary waste but will also ig-
gravate the fisherman when perch
nibble at the loose ends. Hook a
piece of worm about one-half to
three-quarters of 'an ,inch long
through the body once and string
the rest over the barb. Be sure the
very tip of the point of the hook is
covered with meat. This one detail
will let you catch twice as many fish
as you would with the worm looped
on the hook with the point uncov-
ered.
Hold the butt of the pole in one
hand, lift it and swing the bait out
over the water. Gently let it down
into a small opening between the
branches of a sunken bush. Let the
hook down at least two feet; three
or four feet is usually better. Any
perch biting at the worm will send
a tiny tremor up the line and pole.
A gentle but firm upward pull will
almost surely hook him. Don't leave
now: the fishing is just starting.
Usually a half-dozen or more good
size perch can be taken from one
clump of weeds or brush. After
about 15 minutes at one piece of
cover, move on along the bank to
a new bush. Of course, pick out a
brush pile or other cover that is in
water four to eight feet deep. There's
little chance of catching perch if the
baited hook is allowed to reach the
bottom, but the larger perch will
be found in deeper water.
As we've said, perch can be caught
in a number of ways but the simple
method explained here is a tried
and proved one. Just remember to
aim your perch fishing at perch, not
just any. fish. Rig the right tackle
and get the right bait. Locate a place
to fish and then locate specific spots
that have protective cover. Keep the
point of the hook covered. Close
attention to these few secrets will
help you catch a lot more perch
than all the "fisherman's luck" in a
bucket. *0
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